83R9519 GCB-F
By: Moody H.B. No. 3493
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the interception of wire, oral, or electronic
communications for law enforcement purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 5(a), Article 18.20, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by this section and
Sections 8A and 8B, only the Department of Public Safety is
authorized by this article to own, possess, install, operate, or
monitor an electronic, mechanical, or other device. The
Department of Public Safety may be assisted by an investigative or
law enforcement officer or other person in the operation and
monitoring of an interception of wire, oral, or electronic
communications, provided that the officer or other person:
(1) is designated by the director for that purpose;
and
(2) acts [in the presence and] under the direction of a
commissioned officer of the Department of Public Safety.
SECTION 2. Section 1, Article 18.21, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended by amending Subdivisions (3-a) and (6) and
adding Subdivision (6-a) to read as follows:
(3-a) "Designated law enforcement office or agency"
means:
(A) the sheriff's department of a county with a
population of 500,000 [3.3 million] or more;
(B) a police department in a municipality with a
population of 500,000 or more; or
(C) the office of inspector general of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice.
(6) "Pen register" means a device or process that
records or decodes pen register information [dialing, routing,
addressing, or signaling information transmitted by an instrument
or facility from which a wire or electronic communication is
transmitted, if the information does not include the contents of
the communication]. The term does not include a device used by a
provider or customer of a wire or electronic communication service
in the ordinary course of the provider's or customer's business for
purposes of:
(A) billing or recording as an incident to
billing for communications services; or
(B) cost accounting, security control, or other
ordinary business purposes.
(6-a) "Pen register information" means the dialing,
routing, addressing, or signaling information transmitted by an
instrument or facility from which a wire or electronic
communication is transmitted, if the information does not include
the contents of the communication.
SECTION 3. Section 2, Article 18.21, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended by amending Subsection (e) and adding
Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:
(e) On presentation of the application, the judge may order
the installation and use of the trap and trace device or similar
equipment by the communication common carrier, the provider of an
electronic communications service, or other person on the
appropriate line. The judge may direct the communication common
carrier, electronic communications service provider, or other
person, including any landlord or other custodian of equipment, to
furnish all information, facilities, and technical assistance
necessary to install or use the device or equipment unobtrusively
and with a minimum of interference to the services provided by the
communication common carrier[, landlord, custodian,] or other
person. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the results of the
trap and trace device or similar equipment shall be provided
[furnished] to the applicant, designated by the court, at
reasonable intervals during regular business hours, for the
duration of the order. The carrier or other person is entitled to
compensation at the prevailing rates for the facilities and
assistance provided to the designated law enforcement office or
agency.
(e-1) If for technical reasons pen register information is
obtained from an electronic communications service provider
through the installation of a trap and trace device and if the pen
register information for those technical reasons will be delivered
directly to law enforcement across a secure line, on an application
under Subsection (b)(2) for the installation and use of a trap and
trace device, the judge may order the applicable service provider
to install the trap and trace device and deliver to the appropriate
law enforcement agency the pen register information in addition to
the other information acquired as a result of the installation and
use of the trap and trace device. Separate applications are not
required to obtain the pen register information and information
from the trap and trace device.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.