Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB2932 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	H.B. No. 2932
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to including in the law enforcement information system
6	6	information indicating that criminal defendants have committed
7	7	certain additional offenses.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Chapter 411, Government Code, is amended by
10	10	adding Subchapter D-1 to read as follows:
11	11	SUBCHAPTER D-1. CENTRAL INDEX OF CERTAIN ADDITIONAL OFFENSES
12	12	SUSPECTED TO HAVE BEEN COMMITTED BY CRIMINAL DEFENDANTS
13	13	Sec. 411.0601. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "criminal
14	14	justice agency" has the meaning assigned by Article 60.01, Code of
15	15	Criminal Procedure.
16	16	Sec. 411.0602. ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTRAL INDEX; ENTRY OF
17	17	INFORMATION. (a) In the law enforcement information system
18	18	maintained by the department, the bureau of identification and
19	19	records shall establish and maintain a central index to collect and
20	20	disseminate information regarding additional offenses that
21	21	forensic DNA test results indicate may have been committed by a
22	22	defendant who has been arrested for or charged with any felony or
23	23	misdemeanor offense, other than a misdemeanor offense punishable by
24	24	fine only.
25	25	(b) Information relating to a defendant described by
26	26	Subsection (a) may be entered in the central index only if the
27	27	information is based on forensic DNA test results indicating that
28	28	the DNA profile of the defendant cannot be excluded as a donor to
29	29	the DNA profile of a person suspected to have committed an offense,
30	30	regardless of whether the defendant has been or will be arrested for
31	31	or charged with that offense. The information must be:
32	32	(1) submitted in the form of an affidavit signed by a
33	33	representative of an investigating criminal justice agency and
34	34	approved by a district judge; and
35	35	(2) accompanied by a set of the defendant's
36	36	fingerprints.
37	37	Sec. 411.0603. CONFIDENTIALITY AND DISSEMINATION OF
38	38	INFORMATION IN CENTRAL INDEX. (a) Information maintained by the
39	39	department in the central index established under this subchapter
40	40	is confidential. The department may not disseminate the
41	41	information except as otherwise provided by this section.
42	42	(b) On proper inquiry, the department shall disseminate to a
43	43	criminal justice agency the information collected under Section
44	44	411.0602. The criminal justice agency may disseminate the
45	45	information to any other criminal justice agency if the
46	46	dissemination of that information is for a criminal justice
47	47	purpose.
48	48	(c) A criminal justice agency or an employee of a criminal
49	49	justice agency is not liable for an act or omission relating to the
50	50	collection, use, or dissemination of information collected under
51	51	Section 411.0602 if that collection, use, or dissemination is
52	52	performed in accordance with rules adopted by the director.
53	53	Sec. 411.0604. RULES. The director shall adopt rules to
54	54	implement and enforce this subchapter.
55	55	Sec. 411.0605. RIGHT TO REQUEST NOTICE OF ENTRY IN CENTRAL
56	56	INDEX. (a) A defendant described by Section 411.0602(a) may submit
57	57	to the bureau of identification and records a request to determine
58	58	whether the bureau has entered information relating to the
59	59	defendant in the central index established under Section 411.0602.
60	60	The bureau shall respond to the request not later than the 10th
61	61	business day after the date the bureau receives the request.
62	62	(b) Before responding to a request under Subsection (a), the
63	63	bureau may require reasonable written verification of the identity
64	64	of the defendant submitting the request, including written
65	65	verification of an address, date of birth, driver's license number,
66	66	state identification card number, or social security number.
67	67	Sec. 411.0606. RIGHT TO REQUEST REVIEW OF ENTRY IN CENTRAL
68	68	INDEX. (a) On receipt by the bureau of identification and records
69	69	of a written request that is submitted by a defendant described by
70	70	Section 411.0602(a), that is accompanied by a set of the
71	71	defendant's fingerprints, and that alleges that the bureau may have
72	72	entered inaccurate information relating to the defendant in the
73	73	central index established under Section 411.0602, the head of the
74	74	bureau or that person's designee and the head of the department's
75	75	crime laboratory in Austin each shall review the information to
76	76	determine whether there is a high likelihood that the information
77	77	is accurate.
78	78	(b) If after review the head of the bureau or that person's
79	79	designee or the head of the department's crime laboratory in Austin
80	80	determines there is not a high likelihood that the information
81	81	relating to the defendant is accurate, the bureau shall:
82	82	(1) promptly remove that information from the central
83	83	index; and
84	84	(2) notify other appropriate divisions of the
85	85	department, the investigating criminal justice agency, and the
86	86	defendant of the bureau's determination and the removal of the
87	87	information.
88	88	(c) If after review the head of the bureau or that person's
89	89	designee and the head of the department's crime laboratory in
90	90	Austin jointly determine there is a high likelihood that the
91	91	information relating to the defendant is accurate, the bureau shall
92	92	notify the defendant of that determination.
93	93	SECTION 2. (a) Not later than December 1, 2009, the public
94	94	safety director of the Department of Public Safety of the State of
95	95	Texas shall adopt the rules required by Section 411.0604,
96	96	Government Code, as added by this Act.
97	97	(b) The change in law made by this Act in adding Subchapter
98	98	D-1, Chapter 411, Government Code, applies to the inclusion of
99	99	forensic DNA test results in the central index required to be
100	100	established under that subchapter, regardless of whether the test
101	101	results were obtained before, on, or after the effective date of
102	102	this Act.
103	103	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
104	104	______________________________ ______________________________
105	105	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
106	106	I certify that H.B. No. 2932 was passed by the House on April
107	107	28, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 0, 1 present, not
108	108	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
109	109	No. 2932 on May 29, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 1,
110	110	1 present, not voting.
111	111	______________________________
112	112	Chief Clerk of the House
113	113	I certify that H.B. No. 2932 was passed by the Senate, with
114	114	amendments, on May 27, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
115	115	0.
116	116	______________________________
117	117	Secretary of the Senate
118	118	APPROVED: __________________
119	119	Date
120	120	__________________
121	121	Governor