86R2896 TSS-F
By: White H.B. No. 3316
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Texas Crime Stoppers Council.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 414.001, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subdivision (2) and adding Subdivisions (3) and (4) to
read as follows:
(2) "Crime stoppers organization" means:
(A) a private, nonprofit organization that is
operated on a local or statewide level, that accepts [and expends]
donations and expends funds for rewards to persons who report to the
organization information about criminal activity or conduct or
threatened conduct that constitutes a danger to public safety or an
individual, and that forwards the information to the appropriate
law enforcement agency, school district, or open-enrollment
charter school; or
(B) a public organization that is operated on a
local or statewide level, that pays rewards to persons who report to
the organization information about criminal activity or conduct or
threatened conduct that constitutes a danger to public safety or an
individual, and that forwards the information to the appropriate
law enforcement agency, school district, or open-enrollment
charter school.
(3) "Open-enrollment charter school" means a school
that has been granted a charter under Subchapter D, Chapter 12,
Education Code.
(4) "School district" means a public school district
created under the laws of this state.
SECTION 2. Section 414.002, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (e) to
read as follows:
(b) The council consists of five voting members appointed by
the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. At least
three members must be:
(1) a current or former official or employee of a
school district or open-enrollment charter school; or
(2) a person [persons] who has [have] participated in
a crime stoppers organization in any of the following capacities:
(A) [(1)] as a law enforcement coordinator;
(B) [(2)] as a member of the board of directors;
(C) [(3)] as a media representative; or
(D) [(4)] as an administrative officer.
(c) The term of office of a voting member is four years.
(d) At its first meeting after the beginning of each fiscal
year the council shall elect from among its voting members a
chairman and other officers that the council considers necessary.
(e) In addition to the voting members appointed under
Subsection (b), the council may annually appoint a current student
of a school in this state who participates in the Texas Crime
Stoppers Ambassador Program as a non-voting student advisor to the
council.
SECTION 3. Section 414.003, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 414.003. PER DIEM AND EXPENSES. A voting member of the
council is entitled to:
(1) a per diem as determined by appropriation; and
(2) reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses
incurred in performing duties as a member.
SECTION 4. Section 414.005, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 414.005. DUTIES. The council shall:
(1) encourage, advise, and assist in the creation of
crime stoppers organizations;
(2) foster the detection of crime and encourage
persons to report information about criminal acts or conduct or
threatened conduct that constitutes a danger to public safety or an
individual;
(3) encourage news and other media to [broadcast
reenactments and to] inform the public of the functions of crime
stoppers organizations' operations and programs;
(4) promote the process of crime stoppers
organizations to forward information about criminal acts or conduct
or threatened conduct that constitutes a danger to public safety or
an individual to the appropriate law enforcement agencies, school
districts, and open-enrollment charter schools;
(5) help law enforcement agencies detect and combat
crime by increasing the flow of information to and between law
enforcement agencies;
(6) create specialized programs targeted at detecting
specific crimes or types of crimes identified as priorities by the
council, including at least one program that:
(A) encourages individuals to report sex
offenders who have failed to register under Chapter 62, Code of
Criminal Procedure;
(B) encourages individuals to report criminal
activity relating to the trafficking of persons, as described under
Chapter 20A, Penal Code; and
(C) financially rewards each individual who
makes a report described by Paragraph (A) or (B) that leads or
substantially contributes to the arrest or apprehension:
(i) of a sex offender who has failed to
register under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure; or
(ii) of a person suspected of engaging in
conduct that constitutes an offense under Chapter 20A, Penal Code;
[and]
(7) encourage, advise, and assist crime stoppers
organizations in implementing any programs created under
Subdivision (6), including a program specifically described by
Subdivision (6); and
(8) encourage, advise, and assist in the creation of
campus-based crime stoppers organizations to address criminal
activity and conduct or threatened conduct that constitutes a
danger to public safety or an individual.
SECTION 5. Section 414.007, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 414.007. CONFIDENTIALITY OF CRIME STOPPERS [COUNCIL]
RECORDS. A record relating to a report [Council records relating to
reports] of a criminal act or conduct or threatened conduct that
constitutes a danger to public safety or an individual received by a
crime stoppers organization or the council, including the identity
of the person who made the report, is [acts are] confidential and is
not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552.
SECTION 6. Sections 414.008(a), (b), and (e), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, evidence
of a communication between a person submitting a report [of a
criminal act] to the council or a crime stoppers organization and a
[the] person who accepted the report on behalf of the council or
organization is not admissible in a court or an administrative
proceeding.
(b) A record [Records] of the council, [or] a crime stoppers
organization, a law enforcement agency, a school district, or an
open-enrollment charter school concerning a report of criminal
activity or conduct or threatened conduct that constitutes a danger
to public safety or an individual may not be compelled to be
produced before a court or other tribunal except on a motion:
(1) filed in a criminal trial court by a defendant who
alleges that the record [records] or report contains evidence that
is exculpatory to the defendant in the trial of that offense; or
(2) filed in a civil case by a plaintiff who alleges
that denial of access to the record [the records] concerning the
report of criminal activity or conduct or threatened conduct that
constitutes a danger to public safety or an individual abrogates
any part of a cognizable common law cause of action, if the
plaintiff alleging abrogation:
(A) was charged with or convicted of a criminal
offense based at least partially on the report and the charges were
dismissed, the plaintiff was acquitted, or the conviction was
overturned, as applicable; and
(B) in the motion establishes a prima facie case
that the plaintiff's abrogated claim is based on injuries from the
criminal charge or conviction caused by the wrongful acts of
another performed in connection with the report.
(e) The court shall return to the council, [or] crime
stoppers organization, law enforcement agency, school district, or
open-enrollment charter school the materials that are produced
under this section but not disclosed to the movant. The council,
[or] crime stoppers organization, law enforcement agency, school
district, or open-enrollment charter school shall store the
materials at least until the first anniversary of the following
appropriate date:
(1) the date of expiration of the time for all direct
appeals in a criminal case; or
(2) the date a plaintiff's right to appeal in a civil
case is exhausted.
SECTION 7. Section 414.009(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A person who is a member or employee of the council, a
crime stoppers organization, a law enforcement agency, a school
district, or an open-enrollment charter school or who otherwise
accepts a report of criminal activity or conduct or threatened
conduct that constitutes a danger to public safety or an individual
on behalf of a crime stoppers organization commits an offense if the
person intentionally or knowingly discloses [divulges] to a person
not a member of or employed by a crime stoppers organization, a law
enforcement agency, a school district, or an open-enrollment
charter school the [content of a report of a criminal act or the]
identity of a [the] person who made a [the] report or the content of
a report that reveals the identity of a person who made a report
without the person's consent, unless:
(1) the person disclosing the information reasonably
determines that:
(A) failing to disclose the identity of a person
who made the report creates a probability of imminent physical
injury to another;
(B) the report was intentionally, wilfully, or
wantonly negligent or made with conscious indifference or reckless
disregard for the safety of others; or
(C) the report was made to further:
(i) the commission of a criminal act; or
(ii) a purpose other than the protection of
public safety or assistance in the prevention or investigation of a
criminal act or conduct or threatened conduct that constitutes a
danger to public safety or an individual; or
(2) the disclosure is otherwise required by law or
court order [of the person who made the report].
SECTION 8. Sections 414.010(a) and (d), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a crime stoppers
organization certified by the council to receive money in the form
of payments from defendants placed on community supervision under
Chapter 42A, Code of Criminal Procedure, or money in the form of
repayments of rewards under Articles 37.073 and 42.152, Code of
Criminal Procedure, may transfer [use] not more than 20 percent of
the money [annually] received during each calendar year to an
account used to pay costs incurred in administering the
organization and shall use the remainder of the money, including
any interest earned on the money, only for the payment of rewards to
[reward] persons who report information concerning criminal
activity or conduct or threatened conduct that constitutes a danger
to public safety or an individual. Not later than January 31 of
each year, a crime stoppers organization that receives or expends
money under this section shall file a detailed report with the
council.
(d) A [If the amount of funds received by a] crime stoppers
organization under this section [exceeds three times the amount of
funds that the organization uses to pay rewards during a fiscal year
based on the average amount of funds used to pay rewards during each
of the preceding three fiscal years, the organization] may deposit
excess funds, in an amount established by council rule, [the excess
amount of funds] in a separate [interest-bearing] account to be
used by the organization for law enforcement or public safety
purposes as established by council rule and relating to crime
stoppers or juvenile justice[, including intervention,
apprehension, and adjudication]. An organization that deposits
excess funds in an account as provided by this subsection may use
any interest earned on the funds to pay costs incurred in
administering the organization.
SECTION 9. Section 414.012, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 414.012. STATEWIDE CRIME REPORTING SYSTEMS. The
council shall establish a free statewide telephone service and
other appropriate systems to allow information about criminal acts
or conduct or threatened conduct that constitutes a danger to
public safety or an individual to be reported to the council, crime
stoppers organizations, law enforcement agencies, school
districts, or open-enrollment charter schools and shall make the
telephone service and other reporting systems accessible at all
times to persons residing in areas of the state not served by a
crime stoppers organization. The council shall forward any [the]
information it receives [received] to appropriate crime stoppers
organizations, law enforcement agencies, school districts, or
open-enrollment charter schools [crime stoppers organization].
SECTION 10. Section 414.013, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 414.013. IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL LIABILITY. (a) A person
who communicates to the council or a crime stoppers organization a
report of criminal activity or conduct or threatened conduct that
constitutes a danger to public safety or an individual [that leads
to the arrest of, the filing of charges against, or the conviction
of a person for a criminal offense] is immune from civil liability
for damages resulting from the communication unless the
communication was:
(1) intentionally, wilfully, or wantonly negligent;
(2) made [or done] with conscious indifference or
reckless disregard for the safety of others;
(3) made to further the commission of a criminal act;
or
(4) made to further a purpose other than the
protection of public safety or assistance in the prevention or
investigation of a criminal act or conduct or threatened conduct
that constitutes a danger to public safety or an individual.
(b) A person who in the course and scope of the person's
duties or functions receives, forwards, or acts on a report of
criminal activity or conduct or threatened conduct that constitutes
a danger to public safety or an individual communicated to the
council or a crime stoppers organization is immune from civil
liability for damages resulting from an act or omission in the
performance of the person's duties or functions unless the act or
omission was:
(1) intentional or[,] wilfully or wantonly negligent;
[, or]
(2) done with conscious indifference or reckless
disregard for the safety of others;
(3) done to further the commission of a criminal act;
or
(4) done to further a purpose other than the
protection of public safety or assistance in the prevention or
investigation of a criminal act or conduct or threatened conduct
that constitutes a danger to public safety or an individual.
SECTION 11. Section 351.901(a), Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (3) and
(4) to read as follows:
(1) "Crime stoppers organization" means a private,
nonprofit organization or a public organization that:
(A) is operated on a local or statewide level;
(B) accepts [and expends] donations and expends
funds for rewards to persons who report to the organization
information about criminal activity or conduct or threatened
conduct that constitutes a danger to public safety or an
individual; and
(C) forwards the information to the appropriate
law enforcement agency, school district, or open-enrollment
charter school.
(3) "Open-enrollment charter school" means a school
that has been granted a charter under Subchapter D, Chapter 12,
Education Code.
(4) "School district" means a public school district
created under the laws of this state.
SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.