Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3504 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R10770 JSC-F
2	2	By: Guillen H.B. No. 3504
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the availability of death records of unidentified
8	8	persons.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 552.115(a), Government Code, is amended
11	11	to read as follows:
12	12	(a) A birth or death record maintained by the [bureau of]
13	13	vital statistics unit of the [Texas] Department of State Health
14	14	Services or a local registration official is excepted from the
15	15	requirements of Section 552.021, except that:
16	16	(1) a birth record is public information and available
17	17	to the public on and after the 75th anniversary of the date of birth
18	18	as shown on the record filed with the [bureau of] vital statistics
19	19	unit or local registration official;
20	20	(2) a death record is public information and available
21	21	to the public on and after the 25th anniversary of the date of death
22	22	as shown on the record filed with the [bureau of] vital statistics
23	23	unit or local registration official, except that if the decedent is
24	24	unidentified, the death record is public information and available
25	25	to the public on and after the first anniversary of the date of
26	26	death;
27	27	(3) a general birth index or a general death index
28	28	established or maintained by the [bureau of] vital statistics unit
29	29	or a local registration official is public information and
30	30	available to the public to the extent the index relates to a birth
31	31	record or death record that is public information and available to
32	32	the public under Subdivision (1) or (2);
33	33	(4) a summary birth index or a summary death index
34	34	prepared or maintained by the [bureau of] vital statistics unit or a
35	35	local registration official is public information and available to
36	36	the public; and
37	37	(5) a birth or death record is available to the chief
38	38	executive officer of a home-rule municipality or the officer's
39	39	designee if:
40	40	(A) the record is used only to identify a
41	41	property owner or other person to whom the municipality is required
42	42	to give notice when enforcing a state statute or an ordinance;
43	43	(B) the municipality has exercised due diligence
44	44	in the manner described by Section 54.035(e), Local Government
45	45	Code, to identify the person; and
46	46	(C) the officer or designee signs a
47	47	confidentiality agreement that requires that:
48	48	(i) the information not be disclosed
49	49	outside the office of the officer or designee, or within the office
50	50	for a purpose other than the purpose described by Paragraph (A);
51	51	(ii) the information be labeled as
52	52	confidential;
53	53	(iii) the information be kept securely; and
54	54	(iv) the number of copies made of the
55	55	information or the notes taken from the information that implicate
56	56	the confidential nature of the information be controlled, with all
57	57	copies or notes that are not destroyed or returned remaining
58	58	confidential and subject to the confidentiality agreement.
59	59	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
60	60	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
61	61	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
62	62	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
63	63	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.