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State senators and representatives put in five months every other year sitting through long debates and poring over the details of legislation on behalf of Texas citizens, and they get a measly $7,200 annual salary in return. Surely, at the very least, they deserve a little special treatment in the eyes of the law, right?

Luckily, they have Rep. Wayne Christian’s House Bill 566.

Under current state law, the Travis County district attorney can prosecute any state-level elected official. That’s because the venue for prosecuting a crime is where it occurs, and Travis County happens to be home to the state Capitol. Its DA’s office also happens to be uniquely experienced in, and equipped for, conducting these types of investigations because of its state-funded public integrity unit.

Christian’s bill would change the prosecution venue for elected state officials so that “[t]he only proper county for the prosecution of an offense involving official misconduct or an offense against public administration” by a legislator would be “the county in which the individual resides.”

Recently elected Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg, who spent the last 10 years as former DA Ronnie Earle’s first assistant, is not impressed. “It creates a special class of citizen who gets to be tried differently from everyone else,” she says.

Lehmberg points out that the statute could also make prosecutions “unwieldy.” If multiple legislators were involved in the same crime, HB 566 would require that they be tried separately in their home counties.

“Usually, with legislation that changes the law like this one, I look for some public interest being served,” says Lehmberg. “In this case, it is very difficult to find.”

Travis County’s DA’s office has historically not been shy about going after public officials. During his 32 years in the position, Earle brought charges against numerous elected officials from both parties, most famously former Congressman Tom DeLay.

Christian declined to talk with the Observer about the bill. An aide said he would “work on a press release about the issue instead.” At press time, it was still being written.