BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3729

By: Bonnen

Homeland Security & Public Safety

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

After the Santa Fe school shooting, many next of kin of those who were killed or seriously injured requested to view the evidence to gain closure. However, due to current laws, there was concern that permitting family members to view this evidence would require that it also be disclosed to the public, including the media. H.B. 3729 seeks to resolve the issue by authorizing a prosecutor to allow a family member to view certain evidence, including a medical examiner's report and video evidence, without subjecting the evidence to public disclosure.

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. 3729 amends the Government Code to authorize a prosecutor to permit a person to view the following evidence of a crime that resulted in a person's death and that occurred in the prosecutor's jurisdiction:

· a medical examiner's report, if the person viewing the report is a family member of the person who is the subject of the report and who was a victim of the crime; and

· video evidence of the crime, if the person viewing the video is a victim of the crime or a victim's family member.

The bill prohibits a person permitted to view a medical examiner's report or video evidence from duplicating, recording, capturing, or otherwise memorializing the information and authorizes a prosecutor to require a person to sign a confidentiality agreement before permitting the person to view the information.

H.B. 3729 establishes the following regarding the permitted viewing of a medical examiner's report or video evidence:

· the permitted viewing is not a voluntary disclosure of information for purposes of state public information law;

· a governmental body, by providing the information, does not waive or affect the confidentiality of the information for purposes of state or federal law or waive the right to assert exceptions to required disclosure of the information in the future;

· the permitted viewing does not affect a person's right to obtain a medical examiner's report or video evidence of a crime from a governmental body under other law, the procedures under which the information is obtained under other law, or the use that may be made of the information obtained under other law;

· the term "family member" means a person related to a victim of a crime within the first degree of consanguinity or affinity and the term "victim" means an individual who suffered personal injury or death as a result of criminal conduct; and

· the term "medical examiner's report" means a report and its contents as provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure, but does not include a photograph or medical image contained in a report created by a medical examiner.

H.B. 3729 applies to a crime that occurred before, on, or after the bill's effective date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2023.