| 1 | 1 | | By: Rodriguez S.B. No. 1044 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (Walle, Moody) |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to access to criminal history record information by |
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| 8 | 8 | | certain entities, including certain local government corporations, |
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| 9 | 9 | | public defender's offices, and the office of capital writs, and to |
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| 10 | 10 | | an exemption for those offices from fees imposed for processing |
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| 11 | 11 | | inquiries for that information. |
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| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Section 411.082, Government Code, is amended by |
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| 14 | 14 | | adding Subdivisions (5) and (6) to read as follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (5) "Office of capital writs" means the office of |
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| 16 | 16 | | capital writs established under Subchapter B, Chapter 78. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (6) "Public defender's office" has the meaning |
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| 18 | 18 | | assigned by Article 26.044(a), Code of Criminal Procedure. |
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| 19 | 19 | | SECTION 2. Section 411.088, Government Code, is amended by |
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| 20 | 20 | | amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as |
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| 21 | 21 | | follows: |
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| 22 | 22 | | (a) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (a-1), the |
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| 23 | 23 | | [The] department may charge a person [that is not primarily a |
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| 24 | 24 | | criminal justice agency] a fee for processing inquiries for |
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| 25 | 25 | | criminal history record information. The department may charge: |
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| 26 | 26 | | (1) a fee of $10 for each inquiry for criminal history |
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| 27 | 27 | | record information on a person that is processed only on the basis |
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| 28 | 28 | | of the person's name, unless the inquiry is submitted |
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| 29 | 29 | | electronically or by magnetic media, in which event the fee is $1; |
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| 30 | 30 | | (2) a fee of $15 for each inquiry for criminal history |
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| 31 | 31 | | record information on a person that is processed on the basis of a |
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| 32 | 32 | | fingerprint comparison search; and |
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| 33 | 33 | | (3) except as provided by Subsection (b), actual costs |
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| 34 | 34 | | for processing all other information inquiries. |
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| 35 | 35 | | (a-1) The department may not charge a fee under Subsection |
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| 36 | 36 | | (a) for providing criminal history record information to: |
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| 37 | 37 | | (1) a criminal justice agency; |
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| 38 | 38 | | (2) the office of capital writs; or |
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| 39 | 39 | | (3) a public defender's office. |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 3. Subchapter F, Chapter 411, Government Code, is |
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| 41 | 41 | | amended by adding Section 411.1272 to read as follows: |
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| 42 | 42 | | Sec. 411.1272. ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD |
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| 43 | 43 | | INFORMATION: OFFICE OF CAPITAL WRITS AND PUBLIC DEFENDER'S |
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| 44 | 44 | | OFFICES. The office of capital writs and a public defender's office |
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| 45 | 45 | | are entitled to obtain from the department criminal history record |
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| 46 | 46 | | information maintained by the department that relates to a criminal |
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| 47 | 47 | | case in which an attorney compensated by the office of capital writs |
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| 48 | 48 | | or by the public defender's office has been appointed. |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 4. Subchapter F, Chapter 411, Government Code, is |
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| 50 | 50 | | amended by adding Section 411.1301 to read as follows: |
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| 51 | 51 | | Sec. 411.1301. ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD |
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| 52 | 52 | | INFORMATION: CERTAIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATIONS ENGAGED IN |
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| 53 | 53 | | CRIMINAL IDENTIFICATION ACTIVITIES. (a) This section applies |
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| 54 | 54 | | only to a local government corporation that is created under |
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| 55 | 55 | | Subchapter D, Chapter 431, Transportation Code, for governmental |
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| 56 | 56 | | purposes relating to criminal identification activities, including |
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| 57 | 57 | | forensic analysis, and that allocates a substantial part of its |
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| 58 | 58 | | annual budget to those criminal identification activities. |
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| 59 | 59 | | (b) A local government corporation described by Subsection |
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| 60 | 60 | | (a) is entitled to obtain from the department criminal history |
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| 61 | 61 | | record information maintained by the department that relates to a |
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| 62 | 62 | | person who: |
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| 63 | 63 | | (1) is an employee or an applicant for employment with |
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| 64 | 64 | | the local government corporation; |
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| 65 | 65 | | (2) is a consultant, intern, or volunteer for the |
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| 66 | 66 | | local government corporation or an applicant to serve as a |
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| 67 | 67 | | consultant, intern, or volunteer; |
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| 68 | 68 | | (3) proposes to enter into a contract with or has a |
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| 69 | 69 | | contract with the local government corporation to perform services |
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| 70 | 70 | | for or supply goods to the local government corporation; or |
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| 71 | 71 | | (4) is an employee or subcontractor, or an applicant |
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| 72 | 72 | | to be an employee or subcontractor, of a contractor that provides |
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| 73 | 73 | | services to the local government corporation. |
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| 74 | 74 | | (c) Criminal history record information obtained by a local |
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| 75 | 75 | | government corporation under Subsection (b) may not be released or |
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| 76 | 76 | | disclosed to any person except: |
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| 77 | 77 | | (1) on court order; or |
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| 78 | 78 | | (2) with the consent of the person who is the subject |
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| 79 | 79 | | of the criminal history record information. |
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| 80 | 80 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |
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