BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3330

By: Sherman, Sr.

Homeland Security & Public Safety

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

A child with an intellectual disability who goes missing will elicit a missing child alert while those with mental illnesses could be classified as runaways. These two labels elicit different responses from law enforcement agencies. One prompts a faster response than the other and when it comes to missing children the first 48 hours can be crucial to bringing a child home. H.B. 3330 seeks to address the issue regarding the mislabeling of missing children or persons, including those with intellectual disabilities, by establishing a task force that will study the classification of cases and the statewide alert systems for abducted children and missing persons with intellectual disabilities.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 3330 requires the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) to establish a task force to study the classification of cases for the statewide alert systems for abducted children and missing persons with intellectual disabilities and the application of those systems to each case. The task force is composed of the following 16 members, who are to be appointed by the presiding officer of TCOLE not later than November 1, 2023:

· a child with a physical disability;

· a child with a mental illness or intellectual disability;

· a family member of a person with a mental illness or intellectual disability;

· an employee of a local behavioral health authority;

· a member of a community resource coordination group;

· an employee or volunteer of a nonprofit organization that supports the self-advocacy of children;

· an employee or volunteer of a nonprofit organization that provides services to children with disabilities;

· an employee or volunteer of a nonprofit organization that provides services to children with mental health needs;

· a certified school counselor who has experience in offering trauma-informed care to students;

· a physician with experience working with patients with disabilities or a psychiatrist;

· an attorney licensed in Texas whose practice includes juvenile justice or family law;

· an attorney licensed in Texas whose practice includes probate or civil jurisprudence; and

· a representative of each of the following state agencies:

o the Texas Education Agency;

o the Health and Human Services Commission;

o the Department of Family and Protective Services; and

o the Department of Public Safety.

The bill provides for the task force's administration and operation, including with respect to the election of a presiding officer, filling of a vacancy, meetings, reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred, and the acceptance of gifts, grants, and donations to carry out the task force's duties.

H.B. 3330 requires the study conducted by the task force to include the following:

· an analysis of children and persons with intellectual disabilities reported missing throughout Texas, including:

o whether a statewide alert system was activated as a result of the report;

o the following for each person reported missing, if known:

§ age, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation and gender identity;

§ human or sex trafficking risk score calculated using a risk assessment regularly used by law enforcement agencies in Texas;

§ urban or rural designation, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau in the most recent census, for the person's residence; and

§ opportunity zone, as defined by the IRS, for the person's residence; and

o the law enforcement response to the missing persons report, including:

§ if a 911 or 311 call was made in relation to the missing person's disappearance, the 911 or 311 classification applied to the call in the applicable computer-aided dispatch system, including missing, runaway, abducted, or kidnapped;

§ the classification of the missing persons case within any applicable law enforcement database, including a jail management system or offender management system;

§ any indication included in the report indicating the mental health condition of the missing person;

§ whether law enforcement agencies in adjoining municipalities or counties were notified of the missing person; and

§ the law enforcement agency's communication with the missing person's parent, caregiver, or another person who reported the person missing; and

· a description of any trends or patterns in the data analyzed that indicate that a group or subset of missing persons cases are treated differently than others based on a characteristic of the missing person.

H.B. 3330 requires the task force to compile information regarding each law enforcement agency and agency providing 911 dispatch operations in Texas. The information must include the following:

· whether the agency has a written mental health policy applicable to alleged victims or offenders, including whether the policy has specific provisions relating to victims or offenders who are children;

· the number of agency employees who have received specialized training in mental health related fields; and

· a description of each such training course attended by an agency employee and the frequency with which each employee attended a training course.

H.B. 3330 requires the task force, based on the results of the study and the information compiled, to develop recommendations to increase the consistent application of the statewide alert systems for abducted children and missing persons with intellectual disabilities, including by standardizing case classifications and other law enforcement procedures for missing persons cases, including missing persons cases involving a missing person with a mental illness. The bill requires the task force, not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year, to prepare and submit to each member of the legislature, the Commission on Jail Standards, the Department of Public Safety, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, the Texas Civil Commitment Office, and TCOLE a written report that includes the results of the study, the information compiled, and the recommendations developed, as well as any other legislative or regulatory recommendations.

H.B. 3330 exempts the task force from state law governing state agency advisory committees. The bill sets the task force to be abolished September 1, 2030, and establishes that the bill's provisions expire on that date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.