By: Moody (Senate Sponsor - King) H.B. No. 1385
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 8, 2023;
May 9, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
Justice; May 19, 2023, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 19, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to access to criminal history record information by county
offices providing pretrial release services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 411.083(b) and (c), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(b) The department shall grant access to criminal history
record information to:
(1) criminal justice agencies;
(2) noncriminal justice agencies authorized by
federal statute or executive order or by state statute to receive
criminal history record information;
(3) the person who is the subject of the criminal
history record information;
(4) a person working on a research or statistical
project that:
(A) is funded in whole or in part by state funds;
or
(B) meets the requirements of Part 22, Title 28,
Code of Federal Regulations, and is approved by the department;
(5) an individual or an agency that has a specific
agreement with a criminal justice agency to provide services
required for the administration of criminal justice under that
agreement, if the agreement:
(A) specifically authorizes access to
information;
(B) limits the use of information to the purposes
for which it is given;
(C) ensures the security and confidentiality of
the information;
(D) provides for sanctions if a requirement
imposed under Paragraph (A), (B), or (C) is violated; and
(E) requires the individual or agency to perform
the applicable services in a manner prescribed by the department;
(6) an individual or an agency that has a specific
agreement with a noncriminal justice agency to provide services
related to the use of criminal history record information
disseminated under this subchapter, if the agreement:
(A) specifically authorizes access to
information;
(B) limits the use of information to the purposes
for which it is given;
(C) ensures the security and confidentiality of
the information;
(D) provides for sanctions if a requirement
imposed under Paragraph (A), (B), or (C) is violated; and
(E) requires the individual or agency to perform
the applicable services in a manner prescribed by the department;
(7) a county or district clerk's office; [and]
(8) a county office monitoring the pretrial release of
a defendant, including:
(A) a community supervision and corrections
department established for one or more counties under Chapter 76;
or
(B) a personal bond office established for one or
more counties under Article 17.42, Code of Criminal Procedure; and
(9) the Office of Court Administration of the Texas
Judicial System.
(c) The department may disseminate criminal history record
information under Subsection (b)(1) or (8) only for a criminal
justice purpose. The department may disseminate criminal history
record information under Subsection (b)(2) only for a purpose
specified in the statute or order. The department may disseminate
criminal history record information under Subsection (b)(4), (5),
or (6) only for a purpose approved by the department and only under
rules adopted by the department. The department may disseminate
criminal history record information under Subsection (b)(7) only to
the extent necessary for a county or district clerk to perform a
duty imposed by law to collect and report criminal court
disposition information. Criminal history record information
disseminated to a clerk under Subsection (b)(7) may be used by the
clerk only to ensure that information reported by the clerk to the
department is accurate and complete. The dissemination of
information to a clerk under Subsection (b)(7) does not affect the
authority of the clerk to disclose or use information submitted by
the clerk to the department. The department may disseminate
criminal history record information under Subsection (b)(9)
[(b)(8)] only to the extent necessary for the office of court
administration to perform a duty imposed by law, including the
development and maintenance of the public safety report system as
required by Article 17.021, Code of Criminal Procedure, or to
compile court statistics or prepare reports. The office of court
administration may disclose criminal history record information
obtained from the department under Subsection (b)(9) [(b)(8)]:
(1) in a public safety report prepared under Article
17.022, Code of Criminal Procedure; or
(2) in a statistic compiled by the office or a report
prepared by the office, but only in a manner that does not identify
the person who is the subject of the information.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
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