By: Fletcher (Senate Sponsor - Estes) H.B. No. 2152
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2015;
April 28, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on
Veteran Affairs and Military Installations; May 8, 2015, reported
adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following
vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 8, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 2152 By: Hall
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the confidentiality of certain information concerning
service members of the state military forces.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 437, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 437.232 to read as follows:
Sec. 437.232. CONFIDENTIALITY OF MILITARY PERSONNEL
INFORMATION. (a) In this section, "military personnel
information" means a service member's name, home address, rank,
official title, pay rate or grade, state active duty orders,
deployment locations, military duty addresses, awards and
decorations, length of military service, and medical records.
(b) A service member's military personnel information is
confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552.
SECTION 2. Section 552.117(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Information is excepted from the requirements of
Section 552.021 if it is information that relates to the home
address, home telephone number, emergency contact information, or
social security number of the following person or that reveals
whether the person has family members:
(1) a current or former official or employee of a
governmental body, except as otherwise provided by Section 552.024;
(2) a peace officer as defined by Article 2.12, Code of
Criminal Procedure, or a security officer commissioned under
Section 51.212, Education Code, regardless of whether the officer
complies with Section 552.024 or 552.1175, as applicable;
(3) a current or former employee of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice or of the predecessor in function of
the department or any division of the department, regardless of
whether the current or former employee complies with Section
552.1175;
(4) a peace officer as defined by Article 2.12, Code of
Criminal Procedure, or other law, a reserve law enforcement
officer, a commissioned deputy game warden, or a corrections
officer in a municipal, county, or state penal institution in this
state who was killed in the line of duty, regardless of whether the
deceased complied with Section 552.024 or 552.1175;
(5) a commissioned security officer as defined by
Section 1702.002, Occupations Code, regardless of whether the
officer complies with Section 552.024 or 552.1175, as applicable;
(6) an officer or employee of a community supervision
and corrections department established under Chapter 76 who
performs a duty described by Section 76.004(b), regardless of
whether the officer or employee complies with Section 552.024 or
552.1175;
(7) a current or former employee of the office of the
attorney general who is or was assigned to a division of that office
the duties of which involve law enforcement, regardless of whether
the current or former employee complies with Section 552.024 or
552.1175;
(8) a current or former employee of the Texas Juvenile
Justice Department or of the predecessors in function of the
department, regardless of whether the current or former employee
complies with Section 552.1175;
(9) a juvenile probation or supervision officer
certified by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, or the
predecessors in function of the department, under Title 12, Human
Resources Code; [or]
(10) employees of a juvenile justice program or
facility, as those terms are defined by Section 261.405, Family
Code; or
(11) a current or former member of the Texas military
forces, as that term is defined by Section 437.001.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a request for information that is received by a governmental body or
an officer for public information on or after the effective date of
this Act. A request for information that was received before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the request was received, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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