Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB3493 Compare Versions

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1	1	83R9519 GCB-F
2	2	By: Moody H.B. No. 3493
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the interception of wire, oral, or electronic
8	8	communications for law enforcement purposes.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 5(a), Article 18.20, Code of Criminal
11	11	Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
12	12	(a) Except as otherwise provided by this section and
13	13	Sections 8A and 8B, only the Department of Public Safety is
14	14	authorized by this article to own, possess, install, operate, or
15	15	monitor an electronic, mechanical, or other device. The
16	16	Department of Public Safety may be assisted by an investigative or
17	17	law enforcement officer or other person in the operation and
18	18	monitoring of an interception of wire, oral, or electronic
19	19	communications, provided that the officer or other person:
20	20	(1) is designated by the director for that purpose;
21	21	and
22	22	(2) acts [in the presence and] under the direction of a
23	23	commissioned officer of the Department of Public Safety.
24	24	SECTION 2. Section 1, Article 18.21, Code of Criminal
25	25	Procedure, is amended by amending Subdivisions (3-a) and (6) and
26	26	adding Subdivision (6-a) to read as follows:
27	27	(3-a) "Designated law enforcement office or agency"
28	28	means:
29	29	(A) the sheriff's department of a county with a
30	30	population of 500,000 [3.3 million] or more;
31	31	(B) a police department in a municipality with a
32	32	population of 500,000 or more; or
33	33	(C) the office of inspector general of the Texas
34	34	Department of Criminal Justice.
35	35	(6) "Pen register" means a device or process that
36	36	records or decodes pen register information [dialing, routing,
37	37	addressing, or signaling information transmitted by an instrument
38	38	or facility from which a wire or electronic communication is
39	39	transmitted, if the information does not include the contents of
40	40	the communication]. The term does not include a device used by a
41	41	provider or customer of a wire or electronic communication service
42	42	in the ordinary course of the provider's or customer's business for
43	43	purposes of:
44	44	(A) billing or recording as an incident to
45	45	billing for communications services; or
46	46	(B) cost accounting, security control, or other
47	47	ordinary business purposes.
48	48	(6-a) "Pen register information" means the dialing,
49	49	routing, addressing, or signaling information transmitted by an
50	50	instrument or facility from which a wire or electronic
51	51	communication is transmitted, if the information does not include
52	52	the contents of the communication.
53	53	SECTION 3. Section 2, Article 18.21, Code of Criminal
54	54	Procedure, is amended by amending Subsection (e) and adding
55	55	Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:
56	56	(e) On presentation of the application, the judge may order
57	57	the installation and use of the trap and trace device or similar
58	58	equipment by the communication common carrier, the provider of an
59	59	electronic communications service, or other person on the
60	60	appropriate line. The judge may direct the communication common
61	61	carrier, electronic communications service provider, or other
62	62	person, including any landlord or other custodian of equipment, to
63	63	furnish all information, facilities, and technical assistance
64	64	necessary to install or use the device or equipment unobtrusively
65	65	and with a minimum of interference to the services provided by the
66	66	communication common carrier[, landlord, custodian,] or other
67	67	person. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the results of the
68	68	trap and trace device or similar equipment shall be provided
69	69	[furnished] to the applicant, designated by the court, at
70	70	reasonable intervals during regular business hours, for the
71	71	duration of the order. The carrier or other person is entitled to
72	72	compensation at the prevailing rates for the facilities and
73	73	assistance provided to the designated law enforcement office or
74	74	agency.
75	75	(e-1) If for technical reasons pen register information is
76	76	obtained from an electronic communications service provider
77	77	through the installation of a trap and trace device and if the pen
78	78	register information for those technical reasons will be delivered
79	79	directly to law enforcement across a secure line, on an application
80	80	under Subsection (b)(2) for the installation and use of a trap and
81	81	trace device, the judge may order the applicable service provider
82	82	to install the trap and trace device and deliver to the appropriate
83	83	law enforcement agency the pen register information in addition to
84	84	the other information acquired as a result of the installation and
85	85	use of the trap and trace device. Separate applications are not
86	86	required to obtain the pen register information and information
87	87	from the trap and trace device.
88	88	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.