1. (a) The written application in behalf of a condemned felon seeking a board recommendation to the governor of a reprieve of execution must be filed at the board's central office headquarters during normal business office hours of a working day which is at least five working days in advance of the scheduled day of execution. Otherwise, the applicant's sole recourse will be directly to the governor, under §143.41(a) of this title (relating to Governor's Reprieve).

2. (b) Upon receipt of an application for a board-recommended reprieve of execution, the board may either:

   1. (1) grant the request upon affirmative vote of four board members and transmit its written, signed recommendation to the office of the governor;
   2. (2) deny the request; or
   3. (3) set the matter for a hearing as soon as practicable and at a location convenient to the board and the parties which it wishes to appear before it.
3. (c) When the board sets a hearing pursuant to subsection (b)(3) of this section, it shall notify the trial officials of the county of conviction and the attorney general of the State of Texas and allow any such official(s), or the designated representatives thereof, the opportunity to attend the hearing and/or to present any relevant information. At the time of notifying the trial officials, the board shall also notify any representative of the family of the victim (who has previously requested to be notified) of the receipt of the application, the setting of a hearing, and of said representative or family member's rights to provide any written comments or to attend the hearing.
4. (d) All hearings conducted by the board under this section shall be in open session pursuant to requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Article 6252-17. For the purpose of discussing matters which are deemed confidential by statute, or where otherwise authorized by the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act, the proceedings may be conducted in executive session closed to members of the general public, for that limited purpose. Only those persons whose privacy interests and right to confidentiality may be abridged by discussion involving disclosure of confidential information may be allowed to meet with members of the board in their executive session to discuss that information. No decision, vote, or final action by the board shall be made during a closed meeting; the board's decision, vote, or final action shall be made and announced in an open meeting. The hearing may be recessed prior to its completion and reconvened pursuant to the directions of the board.
5. (e) Advocates for and against the death penalty, generally, and members of the general public may present written information for the board's consideration at its central office headquarters at any reasonable time.

6. (f) After the conclusion of the hearing, the board shall render its decision, reached by majority vote, within a reasonable time, which decision shall be either to:

   1. (1) grant the request, in which case the board's written and signed recommendation for a reprieve of execution of a specified duration, which may be more or less than that requested by the applicant, shall duly and immediately be transmitted to the governor;
   2. (2) deny the request; or
   3. (3) recess the proceedings without rendering a decision on the merits, if a reprieve has been granted by the governor under §143.41(a) of this title (relating to Governor's Reprieve) or if a court of competent jurisdiction has granted a stay of execution.
7. (g) Each of the provisions of this section and §143.42 of this title (relating to Reprieve Recommended by Board) are subject to waiver by the board when it finds that there exists good and adequate cause to suspend said provisions and adopt a different procedure which it finds to be better suited to the exigencies of the individual case before it.
8. (h) Successive or repetitious reprieve applications submitted in behalf of the same condemned felon may be summarily denied by the board without meeting.

Source Note:The provisions of this §143.43 adopted to be effective January 4, 1984, 8 TexReg 5423; amended to be effective October 19, 1984, 9 TexReg 5164; amended to be effective March 17, 1987, 12 TexReg 732.