By: Wentworth S.B. No. 1626
(In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2009; March 20, 2009, read
first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human Services;
April 17, 2009, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 8,
Nays 0; April 17, 2009, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the reporting of certain confidential statements made
to a mental health professional.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 611.004, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) A professional to whom a patient communicates a threat
of physical violence against a reasonably identifiable person shall
report the threat to a local law enforcement agency if the
professional determines in good faith that disclosure of the threat
is necessary to protect the health or safety of a person. A
professional who discloses confidential information in accordance
with this subsection is immune from civil or criminal liability for
that disclosure.
SECTION 2. Title 1, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended
by adding Chapter 5A to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5A. PREVENTION OF CERTAIN THREATENED PHYSICAL VIOLENCE
Art. 5A.01. REPORTS OF VIOLENT THREATS REQUIRED. (a) A
peace officer who receives from a mental health professional a
report of a threat of physical violence in accordance with Section
611.004(e), Health and Safety Code, shall make a written report
that includes:
(1) the names of the person making the threat, the
person who is the reasonably identifiable target of the threat, and
the mental health professional making the report; and
(2) a description of the threat.
(b) A peace officer who receives from a mental health
professional a report of a threat of physical violence in
accordance with Section 611.004(e), Health and Safety Code, shall
provide a copy of the report to:
(1) the Department of State Health Services; and
(2) the bureau of identification and records of the
Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas for the bureau's
recordkeeping function under Section 411.042, Government Code.
Art. 5A.02. CERTAIN RECORDKEEPING REQUIRED. (a) Each
local law enforcement agency shall establish a departmental code
for identifying and retrieving reports received under Article
5A.01.
(b) In order to ensure that an officer investigating an
incident or responding to a disturbance call that involves or may
involve physical violence or threats of physical violence is aware
of the existence of a report made under Article 5A.01(a), each local
law enforcement agency shall establish procedures within the agency
to provide to officers adequate information or access to
information concerning the identity of a person identified in a
report as a person who has previously made a threat of physical
violence.
(c) The district or county attorney exercising authority in
the county in which the law enforcement agency has jurisdiction is
entitled to access the records created under this chapter.
SECTION 3. Subsection (b), Section 411.042, Government
Code, as amended by Chapters 70 (H.B. 76), 1306 (S.B. 839), and 1372
(S.B. 9), Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, is
reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(b) The bureau of identification and records shall:
(1) procure and file for record photographs, pictures,
descriptions, fingerprints, measurements, and other pertinent
information of all persons arrested for or charged with a criminal
offense or convicted of a criminal offense, regardless of whether
the conviction is probated;
(2) collect information concerning the number and
nature of offenses reported or known to have been committed in the
state and the legal steps taken in connection with the offenses, and
other information useful in the study of crime and the
administration of justice, including information that enables the
bureau to create a statistical breakdown of offenses in which
family violence was involved and a statistical breakdown of
offenses under Sections 22.011 and 22.021, Penal Code;
(3) make ballistic tests of bullets and firearms and
chemical analyses of bloodstains, cloth, materials, and other
substances for law enforcement officers of the state;
(4) cooperate with identification and crime records
bureaus in other states and the United States Department of
Justice;
(5) maintain a list of all previous background checks
for applicants for any position regulated under Chapter 1702,
Occupations Code, who have undergone a criminal history background
check under Section 411.119, if the check indicates a Class B
misdemeanor or equivalent offense or a greater offense;
(6) collect information concerning the number and
nature of protective orders and all other pertinent information
about all persons on active protective orders. Information in the
law enforcement information system relating to an active protective
order shall include:
(A) the name, sex, race, date of birth, personal
descriptors, address, and county of residence of the person to whom
the order is directed;
(B) any known identifying number of the person to
whom the order is directed, including the person's social security
number or driver's license number;
(C) the name and county of residence of the
person protected by the order;
(D) the residence address and place of employment
or business of the person protected by the order, unless that
information is excluded from the order under Section 85.007, Family
Code;
(E) the child-care facility or school where a
child protected by the order normally resides or which the child
normally attends, unless that information is excluded from the
order under Section 85.007, Family Code;
(F) the relationship or former relationship
between the person who is protected by the order and the person to
whom the order is directed; and
(G) the date the order expires; [and]
(7) grant access to criminal history record
information in the manner authorized under Subchapter F;
(8) [(7)] collect and disseminate information
regarding offenders with mental impairments in compliance with
Chapter 614, Health and Safety Code; and
(9) collect and disseminate information regarding
reports of violent threats in compliance with Chapter 5A, Code of
Criminal Procedure.
SECTION 4. Subsection (e), Section 611.004, Health and
Safety Code, as added by this Act, applies only to a disclosure of
confidential information made on or after the effective date of
this Act.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
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