By: Paxton S.B. No. 836
(In the Senate - Filed January 17, 2025; February 13, 2025,
read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
March 31, 2025, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; March 31, 2025,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 836 By: Flores
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to victims of sex offenses, sex-based human trafficking
offenses, or acts of a sexual nature and to the confidentiality of
or restrictions on the availability of certain property, material,
or information regarding those victims, offenses, or acts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 38.435, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 38.435. PROHIBITED USE OF EVIDENCE FROM FORENSIC
MEDICAL EXAMINATION PERFORMED ON VICTIM OF SEXUAL ASSAULT OR OTHER
SEX OFFENSE; PLACEMENT UNDER SEAL. (a) Evidence collected during a
forensic medical examination conducted under Subchapter G, Chapter
56A, may not be used to investigate or prosecute a misdemeanor
offense, or an offense under Subchapter D, Chapter 481, Health and
Safety Code, alleged to have been committed by the victim from whom
the evidence was collected.
(b) During the course of a criminal hearing or proceeding,
the court may not make available or allow to be made available for
copying or dissemination to the public any property or material
related to or derived from evidence described by Subsection (a),
including a visual image or a recording made as part of the
examination.
(c) The court shall place property or material described by
Subsection (a) under seal of the court on the conclusion of the
hearing or proceeding.
(d) A court that places under seal property or material
described by Subsection (a) may issue an order lifting the seal on a
finding that the order is in the best interest of the public.
SECTION 2. The heading to Article 38.451, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
Art. 38.451. EVIDENCE DEPICTING INVASIVE VISUAL RECORDING
[OF CHILD].
SECTION 3. Article 38.451(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) During the course of a criminal hearing or proceeding
concerning an offense under Section 21.15, Penal Code, [that was
committed against a child younger than 14 years of age,] the court
may [shall] not make available or allow to be made available for
[the] copying or dissemination to the public property or material
that constitutes or contains a visual image, as described by
Section 21.15(b), Penal Code, [of a child younger than 14 years of
age] and that was seized by law enforcement based on a reasonable
suspicion that an offense under that subsection has been committed.
SECTION 4. Chapter 39, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Articles 39.152 and 39.153 to read as follows:
Art. 39.152. DISCOVERY OF EVIDENCE DEPICTING INVASIVE
VISUAL RECORDING OF PERSON 14 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER. (a) In the
manner provided by this article, a court shall allow discovery of
property or material that constitutes or contains a visual image,
as described by Section 21.15(b), Penal Code, of a child 14 years of
age or older and that was seized by law enforcement based on a
reasonable suspicion that an offense under that subsection has been
committed.
(b) The court shall enter a protective order that prohibits
copying or dissemination of property or material described by
Subsection (a) that is produced to the defendant or the defendant's
attorney under Article 39.14.
(c) Any property or material described by Subsection (a)
that is produced under Article 39.14 and not offered as and admitted
to evidence must either be returned to the state or destroyed at the
time of the final disposition of the case.
Art. 39.153. DISCOVERY OF PROPERTY OR MATERIAL FROM
FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATION PERFORMED ON VICTIM OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
OR OTHER SEX OFFENSE. (a) In the manner provided by this article, a
court shall allow discovery of property or material that
constitutes or contains a visual image or a recording that was made
as part of a forensic medical examination.
(b) The court shall enter a protective order that prohibits
copying or dissemination of property or material described by
Subsection (a) that is produced to the defendant or the defendant's
attorney under Article 39.14.
(c) Any property or material described by Subsection (a)
that is produced under Article 39.14 and not offered as and admitted
to evidence must either be returned to the state or destroyed at the
time of the final disposition of the case.
SECTION 5. Article 58.102, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 58.102. DESIGNATION OF PSEUDONYM; PSEUDONYM FORM. (a)
A victim may choose a pseudonym to be used instead of the victim's
name to designate the victim in all public files and records
concerning the offense, including police summary reports, press
releases, and records of judicial proceedings. A victim who elects
to use a pseudonym as provided by this subchapter must complete a
pseudonym form developed under Subsection (b) and return the form
to the law enforcement agency investigating the offense or to the
office of the attorney representing the state prosecuting the
offense.
(b) The Sexual Assault Prevention and Crisis Services
Program of the office of the attorney general shall develop and
distribute to all law enforcement agencies of the state and to each
office of the attorney representing the state a pseudonym form to
record the name, address, telephone number, and pseudonym of a
victim.
SECTION 6. Article 58.103, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 58.103. VICTIM INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL. (a) A
victim who completes a pseudonym form and returns the form to the
law enforcement agency investigating the offense or to the office
of the attorney representing the state prosecuting the offense may
not be required to disclose the victim's name, address, and
telephone number in connection with the investigation or
prosecution of the offense.
(b) A law enforcement agency or an office of the attorney
representing the state receiving a pseudonym form under Subsection
(a) shall send a copy of the form to each other agency or office
investigating or prosecuting the offense.
(c) A completed and returned pseudonym form is confidential
and may not be disclosed to any person other than a defendant in the
case or the defendant's attorney, except as provided by Subsection
(b) or by [on an] order of a court. The court finding required by
Article 58.104 is not required to disclose the confidential
pseudonym form to the defendant in the case or to the defendant's
attorney.
(d) A [(c) If a victim completes a pseudonym form and
returns the form to a law enforcement agency under Article
58.102(a), the] law enforcement agency receiving the form or a copy
of the form shall:
(1) remove the victim's name and substitute the
pseudonym for the name on all reports, files, and records in the
agency's possession; and
(2) [notify the attorney representing the state of the
pseudonym and that the victim has elected to be designated by the
pseudonym; and
[(3)] maintain the form in a manner that protects the
confidentiality of the information contained on the form.
(e) An office of the attorney representing the state
receiving the form or a copy of the form shall:
(1) remove the victim's name and substitute the
pseudonym for the name on all reports, files, and records in the
office's possession;
(2) maintain the form in a manner that protects the
confidentiality of the information contained on the form; and
(3) [(d) An attorney representing the state who
receives notice that a victim has elected to be designated by a
pseudonym shall] ensure that the victim is designated by the
pseudonym in all legal proceedings concerning the offense.
SECTION 7. Chapter 21, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 21.014 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.014. ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION OF COURT PROCEEDINGS
IN CERTAIN CASES PROHIBITED. (a) This section applies to the
following:
(1) criminal or civil court proceedings relating to an
offense under:
(A) Section 21.02, 21.11, 21.15, 22.011, 22.012,
or 22.021, Penal Code;
(B) Section 20A.02(a)(3), (4), (7), or (8), Penal
Code; or
(C) Section 20A.03, Penal Code, if the offense is
based partly or wholly on conduct that constitutes an offense
described by Paragraph (B); and
(2) court proceedings relating to:
(A) a protective order under Chapter 7B, Code of
Criminal Procedure;
(B) a magistrate's order for emergency
protection issued under Article 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure;
(C) a protective order issued under Section
6.504, Family Code; or
(D) a protective order issued under Chapter 85,
Family Code.
(b) A court may not allow the electronic transmission or
broadcasting of court proceedings described by Subsection (a) in
which evidence or testimony is offered that depicts or describes
acts of a sexual nature unless the court provides notice to and
receives express consent for the transmission or broadcasting from:
(1) the victim or the parent, conservator, or guardian
of the victim, as applicable;
(2) the attorney representing the state; and
(3) the defendant.
SECTION 8. Articles 38.435 and 38.451, Code of Criminal
Procedure, as amended by this Act, and Articles 39.152 and 39.153,
Code of Criminal Procedure, and Section 21.014, Government Code, as
added by this Act, apply only to a court hearing or proceeding that
commences on or after the effective date of this Act. A court
hearing or proceeding that commences before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the hearing or
proceeding commenced, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
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