Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB644 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: Canales, Minjarez (Senate Sponsor - Hinojosa) H.B. No. 644
2		-	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 13, 2015;
3		-	May 14, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
4		-	Justice; May 21, 2015, reported favorably by the following vote:
5		-	Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 21, 2015, sent to printer.)
6		-	Click here to see the committee vote
	1	+	H.B. No. 644
7	2
8	3
9		-	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	4		AN ACT
11	5		relating to the contents of a search warrant and to the offense of
12	6		tampering with a governmental record consisting of a search
13	7		warrant.
14	8		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	9		SECTION 1. Article 18.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
16	10		amended to read as follows:
17	11		Art. 18.04. CONTENTS OF WARRANT. A search warrant issued
18	12		under this chapter shall be sufficient if it contains the following
19	13		requisites:
20	14		(1) that it run in the name of "The State of Texas";
21	15		(2) that it identify, as near as may be, that which is
22	16		to be seized and name or describe, as near as may be, the person,
23	17		place, or thing to be searched;
24	18		(3) that it command any peace officer of the proper
25	19		county to search forthwith the person, place, or thing named; [and]
26	20		(4) that it be dated and signed by the magistrate; and
27	21		(5) that the magistrate's name appear in clearly
28	22		legible handwriting or in typewritten form with the magistrate's
29	23		signature.
30	24		SECTION 2. Article 18.021(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,
31	25		is amended to read as follows:
32	26		(c) In addition to the requirements of Subdivisions (1),
33	27		(4), and (5) [and (4)] of Article 18.04 of this code, a warrant
34	28		issued under this article shall identify, as near as may be, the
35	29		child to be located and photographed, shall name or describe, as
36	30		near as may be, the place or thing to be searched, and shall command
37	31		any peace officer of the proper county to search for and cause the
38	32		child to be photographed.
39	33		SECTION 3. Section 37.10(c)(2), Penal Code, is amended to
40	34		read as follows:
41	35		(2) An offense under this section is a felony of the
42	36		third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
43	37		governmental record was:
44	38		(A) a public school record, report, or assessment
45	39		instrument required under Chapter 39, Education Code, data reported
46	40		for a school district or open-enrollment charter school to the
47	41		Texas Education Agency through the Public Education Information
48	42		Management System (PEIMS) described by Section 42.006, Education
49	43		Code, under a law or rule requiring that reporting, or a license,
50	44		certificate, permit, seal, title, letter of patent, or similar
51	45		document issued by government, by another state, or by the United
52	46		States, unless the actor's intent is to defraud or harm another, in
53	47		which event the offense is a felony of the second degree;
54	48		(B) a written report of a medical, chemical,
55	49		toxicological, ballistic, or other expert examination or test
56	50		performed on physical evidence for the purpose of determining the
57	51		connection or relevance of the evidence to a criminal action; [or]
58	52		(C) a written report of the certification,
59	53		inspection, or maintenance record of an instrument, apparatus,
60	54		implement, machine, or other similar device used in the course of an
61	55		examination or test performed on physical evidence for the purpose
62	56		of determining the connection or relevance of the evidence to a
63	57		criminal action; or
64	58		(D) a search warrant issued by a magistrate.
65	59		SECTION 4. (a) The changes in law made by this Act in
66	60		amending Articles 18.04 and 18.021(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,
67	61		apply to a search warrant issued on or after the effective date of
68	62		this Act. A search warrant issued before the effective date of this
69	63		Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the warrant was
70	64		issued, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
71	65		(b) The change in law made by this Act in adding Section
72	66		37.10(c)(2)(D), Penal Code, applies only to an offense committed on
73	67		or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed
74	68		before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
75	69		effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is
76	70		continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
77	71		subsection, an offense was committed before the effective date of
78	72		this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
79	73		SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
80		-	* * * * *
	74	+	______________________________ ______________________________
	75	+	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
	76	+	I certify that H.B. No. 644 was passed by the House on May 12,
	77	+	2015, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 0, 2 present, not
	78	+	voting.
	79	+	______________________________
	80	+	Chief Clerk of the House
	81	+	I certify that H.B. No. 644 was passed by the Senate on May
	82	+	26, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	83	+	______________________________
	84	+	Secretary of the Senate
	85	+	APPROVED: _____________________
	86	+	Date
	87	+	_____________________
	88	+	Governor