By: White (Senate Sponsor - Schwertner) H.B. No. 3316
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 13, 2019;
May 14, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
Justice; May 19, 2019, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0;
May 19, 2019, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 3316 By: Whitmire
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 submit tips
under Section 414.0015(a), [report to the organization information
about criminal activity] and that forwards the information received
from tips to the appropriate law enforcement agency, school
district, or open-enrollment charter school as provided by Section
414.0015(b); or
(B) a public organization that is operated on a
local or statewide level, that pays rewards to persons who submit
tips under Section 414.0015(a) [report to the organization
information about criminal activity], and that forwards the
information received from tips to the appropriate law enforcement
agency, school district, or open-enrollment charter school as
provided by Section 414.0015(b).
(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. Chapter 414, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 414.0015 to read as follows:
Sec. 414.0015. CRIME STOPPERS TIPS. (a) The council, a
crime stoppers organization, or a person accepting information on
behalf of the council or a crime stoppers organization may accept
tips submitted by any person regarding:
(1) criminal activity;
(2) conduct or threatened conduct that constitutes a
danger to public safety or an individual; or
(3) conduct or threatened conduct that would disrupt
the efficient and effective operations of a school district or
open-enrollment charter school.
(b) A crime stoppers organization may forward a tip
submitted under Subsection (a) to the appropriate law enforcement
agency, school district, or open-enrollment charter school, except
that a tip regarding conduct or threatened conduct described only
by Subsection (a)(3) may be forwarded only to the appropriate
school district or open-enrollment charter school.
SECTION 3. 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 public school in this state who participates in the Texas Crime
Stoppers Ambassador Program as a nonvoting student advisor to the
council.
SECTION 4. 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 5. 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 submit tips under Section 414.0015(a) [report
information about criminal acts];
(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 from tips submitted under
Section 414.0015(a) [about criminal acts] 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 submit tips
regarding [report] sex offenders who have failed to register under
Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure;
(B) encourages individuals to submit tips
regarding [report] criminal activity relating to the trafficking of
persons, as described under Chapter 20A, Penal Code; and
(C) financially rewards each individual who
submits a tip [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 increase the
detection of criminal activity and other conduct or threatened
conduct that may be submitted to a crime stoppers organization
under Section 414.0015(a).
SECTION 6. 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 tip received under Section
414.0015(a) maintained by the council, a crime stoppers
organization, a law enforcement agency, a school district, or an
open-enrollment charter school, including the identity of the
person who submitted the tip, is [Council records relating to
reports of criminal acts are] confidential and is not subject to
disclosure under Chapter 552.
SECTION 7. Sections 414.008(a), (b), and (e), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, evidence
relating to [of] a communication between a person submitting a tip
under Section 414.0015(a) [report of a criminal act to the council
or a crime stoppers organization] and a [the] person who accepted
the tip under that subsection [report on behalf of the council or
organization] is not admissible in a court or an administrative
proceeding and may not be considered in a hearing regarding the
expulsion of a student under Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education
Code, or any other student disciplinary 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 tip submitted under
Section 414.0015(a) [report of criminal activity] 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 tip
[report of criminal activity] 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 tip [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 tip [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 8. 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 accepts a tip
under Section 414.0015(a) [report of criminal activity] on behalf
of the council or 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 the council, 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 submitted a tip
or the content of that tip [made the report] without the person's
consent, unless:
(1) the person disclosing the information has received
authorization to disclose the information from the chief executive
of the crime stoppers organization that originally received the
tip, and the chief executive has reasonably determined that failing
to disclose the identity of a person who submitted the tip creates a
probability of imminent physical injury to another; or
(2) the disclosure is otherwise required by law or
court order [of the person who made the report].
SECTION 9. 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 accounts
used solely 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 submit tips under Section 414.0015(a) [report
information concerning criminal activity]. 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 accounts [interest-bearing
account] to be used by the organization solely for law enforcement
or public safety purposes relating to crime stoppers or juvenile
justice, as established by council rule [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 10. 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 tips under Section 414.0015(a)
[information about criminal acts] to be submitted [reported] to the
council 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 11. Section 414.013, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 414.013. IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL LIABILITY. (a) A person
who submits [communicates] to the council or a crime stoppers
organization a tip under Section 414.0015(a) [report of criminal
activity 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 submission
[communication] unless the submission [communication] was:
(1) intentionally, wilfully, or wantonly negligent or
false;
(2) made [or done] with conscious indifference or
reckless disregard for the safety of others; or
(3) made to further the commission of a criminal act.
(b) A person who in the course and scope of the person's
duties or functions receives, forwards, or acts on a tip submitted
under Section 414.0015(a) [report of criminal activity
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; or
(3) done to further the commission of a criminal act.
SECTION 12. 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 submit tips under Section
414.0015(a), Government Code [report to the organization
information about criminal activity]; and
(C) forwards the information received from tips
to the appropriate law enforcement agency, school district, or
open-enrollment charter school as provided by Section 414.0015(b),
Government Code.
(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 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
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