| 1 | 1 | | 84R8798 LEH-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 1960 |
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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 the release of bulk criminal history record information |
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| 8 | 8 | | by certain individuals and agencies. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, is |
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| 11 | 11 | | amended by adding Section 552.1426 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 552.1426. DISSEMINATION OF BULK CRIMINAL HISTORY |
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| 13 | 13 | | RECORD INFORMATION. (a) In this section: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) "Bulk criminal history record information |
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| 15 | 15 | | request" means a request submitted to a district clerk, county |
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| 16 | 16 | | clerk, clerk of a justice or municipal court, or criminal justice |
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| 17 | 17 | | agency for production, in any format, of all or a significant |
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| 18 | 18 | | portion of the criminal history record information maintained by |
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| 19 | 19 | | that clerk, court, or agency. |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) "Criminal history record information" means |
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| 21 | 21 | | information about a person that is collected or maintained by a |
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| 22 | 22 | | district clerk, county clerk, clerk of a justice or municipal |
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| 23 | 23 | | court, or a criminal justice agency and that consists of |
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| 24 | 24 | | identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, |
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| 25 | 25 | | indictments, informations, and other formal criminal charges and |
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| 26 | 26 | | their dispositions. The term does not include: |
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| 27 | 27 | | (A) identification information, including |
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| 28 | 28 | | fingerprint records, to the extent that the identification |
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| 29 | 29 | | information does not indicate involvement of the person in the |
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| 30 | 30 | | criminal justice system; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (B) traffic offense information maintained by a |
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| 32 | 32 | | clerk of a municipal or justice court; or |
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| 33 | 33 | | (C) driving record information maintained by the |
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| 34 | 34 | | Department of Public Safety under Subchapter C, Chapter 521, |
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| 35 | 35 | | Transportation Code. |
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| 36 | 36 | | (3) "Criminal justice agency" has the meaning assigned |
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| 37 | 37 | | by Section 411.082. |
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| 38 | 38 | | (b) A district clerk, county clerk, clerk of a justice or |
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| 39 | 39 | | municipal court, or criminal justice agency, other than the |
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| 40 | 40 | | Department of Public Safety, that receives from any person or |
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| 41 | 41 | | entity a bulk criminal history record information request |
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| 42 | 42 | | concerning Class A or Class B or felony offenses for which a final |
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| 43 | 43 | | judgment has been rendered shall deny the request and provide the |
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| 44 | 44 | | requestor with instructions for submitting a bulk criminal history |
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| 45 | 45 | | record information request to the Department of Public Safety. |
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| 46 | 46 | | (c) A district clerk, county clerk, clerk of a justice or |
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| 47 | 47 | | municipal court, or criminal justice agency that grants a bulk |
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| 48 | 48 | | criminal history record information request submitted by any person |
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| 49 | 49 | | or entity and that concerns Class C offenses for which final |
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| 50 | 50 | | judgment has been rendered or offenses that are pending final |
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| 51 | 51 | | disposition shall: |
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| 52 | 52 | | (1) maintain a record of the name and contact |
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| 53 | 53 | | information of the requestor and the most recent date criminal |
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| 54 | 54 | | history record information was provided to the requestor; and |
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| 55 | 55 | | (2) publish the record on the clerk's or agency's |
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| 56 | 56 | | Internet website or, if the clerk or agency does not maintain an |
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| 57 | 57 | | Internet website, prominently display the record in a public area |
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| 58 | 58 | | of the clerk's or agency's place of business. |
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| 59 | 59 | | (d) This section does not restrict public access to criminal |
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| 60 | 60 | | history record information, other than through a bulk criminal |
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| 61 | 61 | | history record information request, or limit the general discretion |
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| 62 | 62 | | or authority of any district clerk, county clerk, clerk of a justice |
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| 63 | 63 | | or municipal court, or criminal justice agency. |
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| 64 | 64 | | SECTION 2. Section 411.087(a), Government Code, is amended |
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| 65 | 65 | | to read as follows: |
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| 66 | 66 | | (a) Unless otherwise authorized by Subsection (e), a |
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| 67 | 67 | | person, agency, department, political subdivision, or other entity |
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| 68 | 68 | | that is authorized by this subchapter to obtain from the department |
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| 69 | 69 | | criminal history record information maintained by the department |
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| 70 | 70 | | that relates to another person is authorized to: |
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| 71 | 71 | | (1) obtain through the Federal Bureau of Investigation |
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| 72 | 72 | | criminal history record information maintained or indexed by that |
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| 73 | 73 | | bureau that pertains to that person; or |
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| 74 | 74 | | (2) obtain from any other criminal justice agency in |
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| 75 | 75 | | this state criminal history record information maintained by that |
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| 76 | 76 | | criminal justice agency that relates to that person, except as |
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| 77 | 77 | | otherwise provided by Section 552.1426. |
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| 78 | 78 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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