Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB779 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Whitmire S.B. No. 779
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed February 18, 2011; March 1, 2011,
3	3	read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
4	4	March 28, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
5	5	Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; March 28, 2011,
6	6	sent to printer.)
7	7	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 779 By: Whitmire
8	8
9	9
10	10	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
11	11	AN ACT
12	12	relating to a central database containing information about certain
13	13	persons who have been convicted of or received a grant of deferred
14	14	adjudication for certain offenses involving animal cruelty;
15	15	providing a criminal penalty.
16	16	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
17	17	SECTION 1. Title 1, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended
18	18	by adding Chapter 61A to read as follows:
19	19	CHAPTER 61A. ANIMAL CRUELTY REGISTRATION PROGRAM
20	20	Art. 61A.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
21	21	(1) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety
22	22	of the State of Texas.
23	23	(2) "Local law enforcement authority" and "penal
24	24	institution" have the meanings assigned by Article 62.001.
25	25	Art. 61A.02. CENTRAL DATABASE; PUBLIC INFORMATION. (a) To
26	26	the extent that funding is available under Article 61A.07, the
27	27	department shall establish and maintain a computerized central
28	28	database containing information regarding persons who:
29	29	(1) have been convicted of or received a grant of
30	30	deferred adjudication for one or more felony offenses under Section
31	31	42.092 or 42.10, Penal Code; and
32	32	(2) were 17 years of age or older at the time of the
33	33	offense.
34	34	(b) If a computerized central database is established by the
35	35	department under Subsection (a), a person described by that
36	36	subsection shall register as required by this chapter until the
37	37	10th anniversary of the date the person was last convicted of or
38	38	received a grant of deferred adjudication for an offense described
39	39	by Subsection (a)(1).
40	40	(c) The information contained in the database is public
41	41	information, with the exception of any information regarding the
42	42	person's social security number, driver's license number, or
43	43	telephone number.
44	44	(d) The department shall publish on its Internet website all
45	45	public information contained in the database.
46	46	(e) To the extent that funding is available under Article
47	47	61A.07, the department, in cooperation with the Board of Pardons
48	48	and Paroles, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and the
49	49	Commission on Jail Standards, by rule shall design and implement a
50	50	system for the registration of persons described by Subsection (a).
51	51	The system must establish requirements and procedures for:
52	52	(1) a person described by Subsection (a) to be
53	53	notified, before the person's discharge or release, of the person's
54	54	duty to register with a local law enforcement authority for the
55	55	period required by Subsection (b);
56	56	(2) the person to register or verify registration with
57	57	a local law enforcement authority:
58	58	(A) annually;
59	59	(B) every 90 days if the person is determined by
60	60	the department to be high-risk because of the person's status as a
61	61	repeat offender; or
62	62	(C) every 30 days if the person does not have a
63	63	permanent address;
64	64	(3) the person to register with a local law
65	65	enforcement authority not later than five days after the date the
66	66	person changes address;
67	67	(4) the database to track whether a person described
68	68	by Subsection (a) is in compliance with registration requirements
69	69	and, if the person is not in compliance, to make that information
70	70	available to other persons requesting the information;
71	71	(5) a local law enforcement authority to promptly
72	72	forward registration information to the department for use in the
73	73	database;
74	74	(6) the database to track whether a person described
75	75	by Subsection (a) is attending or is planning to attend a public or
76	76	private institution of higher education and, if so, the department
77	77	to promptly forward that information to the applicable institution
78	78	of higher education;
79	79	(7) the inclusion in the database and on the
80	80	department's Internet website of a recent photograph of the person,
81	81	updated annually; and
82	82	(8) the department to update the database daily.
83	83	Art. 61A.03. INFORMATION PROVIDED TO PEACE OFFICER ON
84	84	REQUEST. The department shall establish a procedure by which a
85	85	peace officer or employee of a law enforcement agency who provides
86	86	the department with a driver's license number, personal
87	87	identification certificate number, or license plate number is
88	88	automatically provided information as to whether the person to whom
89	89	the driver's license or personal identification certificate is
90	90	issued is required to register under this chapter or whether the
91	91	license plate number is entered in the computerized central
92	92	database under Article 61A.02 as assigned to a vehicle owned or
93	93	driven by a person required to register under this chapter.
94	94	Art. 61A.04. IMMUNITY FOR RELEASE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION.
95	95	(a) The department, a penal institution, or a local law
96	96	enforcement authority may release to the public information
97	97	regarding a person required to register under this chapter only if
98	98	the information is public information under Article 61A.02(c).
99	99	(b) An individual, agency, entity, or authority is not
100	100	liable under Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, or any
101	101	other law for damages arising from conduct authorized by Subsection
102	102	(a).
103	103	(c) For purposes of determining liability, the release or
104	104	withholding of information by an appointed or elected officer of an
105	105	agency, entity, or authority is a discretionary act.
106	106	(d) A public or private institution of higher education or
107	107	administrator of a public or private institution of higher
108	108	education may release to the public information regarding a person
109	109	required to register under this chapter only if the information is
110	110	public information under Article 61A.02(c) and is released to the
111	111	administrator under Article 61A.02. A public or private
112	112	institution of higher education or administrator of a public or
113	113	private institution of higher education is not liable under any law
114	114	for damages arising from conduct authorized by this subsection.
115	115	Art. 61A.05. EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION FOR CERTAIN ANIMAL
116	116	CRUELTY OFFENDERS. (a) A person required to register under this
117	117	chapter may petition the court having jurisdiction over the case
118	118	for an order exempting the person from registration under this
119	119	chapter at any time after the person's sentencing or after the
120	120	person is placed on deferred adjudication.
121	121	(b) After a hearing on the petition described by Subsection
122	122	(a), the court may issue an order exempting the person from
123	123	registration under this chapter if the court finds that an
124	124	exemption would be in the best interest of justice.
125	125	(c) An order exempting the person from registration under
126	126	this chapter does not expire, except that the court may withdraw the
127	127	order if after the order is issued the person receives another
128	128	conviction or a grant of deferred adjudication for a misdemeanor or
129	129	felony offense under Section 42.092 or 42.10, Penal Code.
130	130	Art. 61A.06. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH REGISTRATION
131	131	REQUIREMENTS. (a) A person commits an offense if the person is
132	132	required to register and fails to comply with any requirement of
133	133	this chapter.
134	134	(b) An offense under this article is a Class C misdemeanor.
135	135	Art. 61A.07. FUNDING. The department may solicit and
136	136	accept a gift, grant, or donation from any source, including a
137	137	foundation, private entity, governmental entity, or institution of
138	138	higher education, for the establishment and maintenance of the
139	139	computerized central database described by this chapter and the
140	140	implementation of a related system of registration under this
141	141	chapter. The department shall establish and maintain the database
142	142	and implement the registration system only if sufficient funds are
143	143	available under this article for those purposes.
144	144	SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 411.135, Government
145	145	Code, is amended to read as follows:
146	146	(a) Any person is entitled to obtain from the department:
147	147	(1) any information described as public information
148	148	under Chapter 61A or 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, [as added by
149	149	Chapter 668, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,]
150	150	including, to the extent available, a recent photograph of each
151	151	person subject to registration under Chapter 61A or 62 [that
152	152	chapter]; and
153	153	(2) criminal history record information maintained by
154	154	the department that relates to the conviction of or a grant of
155	155	deferred adjudication to a person for any criminal offense,
156	156	including arrest information that relates to the conviction or
157	157	grant of deferred adjudication.
158	158	SECTION 3. (a) Chapter 61A, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
159	159	added by this Act, applies only to a person who is convicted of or
160	160	receives a grant of deferred adjudication for an offense committed
161	161	on or after the effective date of this Act. A person who is
162	162	convicted of or receives a grant of deferred adjudication for an
163	163	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
164	164	by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
165	165	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
166	166	this subsection, an offense was committed before the effective date
167	167	of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
168	168	(b) As soon as practicable after sufficient funding becomes
169	169	available under Article 61A.07, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
170	170	added by this Act:
171	171	(1) the Department of Public Safety of the State of
172	172	Texas shall establish the requirements and procedures required by
173	173	Subsection (e), Article 61A.02, and Article 61A.03, Code of
174	174	Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act; and
175	175	(2) the central database required by Chapter 61A, Code
176	176	of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act, must be designed and
177	177	implemented.
178	178	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
179	179	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
180	180	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
181	181	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
182	182	Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
183	183	* * * * *