Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2421 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R11847 JSC-F
2	2	By: Smith H.B. No. 2421
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the issuance of certain warrants and orders for
8	8	searches performed on wireless communications devices and for the
9	9	installation and use of certain tracking equipment.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Articles 18.0215(b) and (c), Code of Criminal
12	12	Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
13	13	(b) A warrant under this article may be issued only by a
14	14	judge in the same judicial district or county as the site of:
15	15	(1) the law enforcement agency that employs the peace
16	16	officer, if the cellular telephone or other wireless communications
17	17	device is in the officer's possession; or
18	18	(2) the likely location of the telephone or device.
19	19	(c) A judge may issue a warrant under this article only on
20	20	the application of a peace officer. An application must be written
21	21	and signed and sworn to or affirmed before the judge. The
22	22	application must:
23	23	(1) state the name, department, agency, and address of
24	24	the applicant;
25	25	(2) identify the cellular telephone or other wireless
26	26	communications device to be searched;
27	27	(3) state the name of the owner or possessor of the
28	28	telephone or device to be searched;
29	29	(4) state the judicial district or county, as
30	30	applicable, in which:
31	31	(A) the law enforcement agency that employs the
32	32	peace officer is located, if the telephone or device is in the
33	33	officer's possession; or
34	34	(B) the telephone or device is likely to be
35	35	located; and
36	36	(5) state the facts and circumstances that provide the
37	37	applicant with probable cause to believe that:
38	38	(A) criminal activity has been, is, or will be
39	39	committed; and
40	40	(B) searching the telephone or device is likely
41	41	to produce evidence in the investigation of the criminal activity
42	42	described in Paragraph (A).
43	43	SECTION 2. Article 18B.052, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
44	44	amended to read as follows:
45	45	Art. 18B.052. JURISDICTION. (a) Except as otherwise
46	46	provided by Subsection (b), an [An] application under this
47	47	subchapter must be filed in a judicial district in which is located:
48	48	(1) the site of the proposed installation or use of the
49	49	device or equipment;
50	50	(2) the site of the communication device on which the
51	51	device or equipment is proposed to be installed or used;
52	52	(3) the billing, residential, or business address of
53	53	the subscriber to the electronic communications service on which
54	54	the device or equipment is proposed to be installed or used;
55	55	(4) the headquarters of:
56	56	(A) the office of the prosecutor filing an
57	57	application under this subchapter; or
58	58	(B) a law enforcement agency that requests the
59	59	prosecutor to file an application under this subchapter or that
60	60	proposes to execute an order authorizing installation and use of
61	61	the device or equipment; or
62	62	(5) the headquarters of a service provider ordered to
63	63	install the device or equipment.
64	64	(b) If a district judge in the judicial district described
65	65	by Subsection (a) is not available, the application may be filed
66	66	with a district judge in a judicial district for a county that is
67	67	contiguous with a county containing any of the locations specified
68	68	by Subsection (a).
69	69	SECTION 3. Article 18B.203, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
70	70	amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
71	71	read as follows:
72	72	(a) As authorized under Subsection (a-1), a [A] district
73	73	judge may issue an order for the installation and use of a mobile
74	74	tracking device in the same judicial district as the site of:
75	75	(1) the investigation; or
76	76	(2) the person, vehicle, container, item, or object
77	77	the movement of which will be tracked by the device.
78	78	(a-1) An order under Subsection (a) may be issued by a
79	79	district judge in a judicial district containing a location
80	80	specified by that subsection or, if that district judge is not
81	81	available, with a district judge in a judicial district for a county
82	82	that is contiguous with a county containing any of the locations
83	83	specified by Subsection (a).
84	84	SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
85	85	an application for a warrant or court order submitted on or after
86	86	the effective date of this Act. An application for a warrant or
87	87	court order submitted before the effective date of this Act is
88	88	governed by the law in effect on the date the application was
89	89	submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that
90	90	purpose.
91	91	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.