By: Carona H.B. No. 614
73R3164 DRH-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to an exception to the offense of interception of a wire,
1-3 oral, or electronic communication.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 16.02(c), Penal Code, is amended to read
1-6 as follows:
1-7 (c) It is an exception to the application of Subsection (b)
1-8 of this section that:
1-9 (1) an operator of a switchboard or an officer,
1-10 employee, or agent of a communication common carrier whose
1-11 facilities are used in the transmission of a wire or electronic
1-12 communication intercepts a communication or discloses or uses an
1-13 intercepted communication in the normal course of employment while
1-14 engaged in an activity that is a necessary incident to the
1-15 rendition of service or to the protection of the rights or property
1-16 of the carrier of the communication, unless the interception
1-17 results from the communication common carrier's use of service
1-18 observing or random monitoring for purposes other than mechanical
1-19 or service quality control checks;
1-20 (2) an officer, employee, or agent of a communication
1-21 common carrier provides information, facilities, or technical
1-22 assistance to an investigative or law enforcement officer who is
1-23 authorized as provided by this article to intercept a wire, oral,
1-24 or electronic communication;
2-1 (3) a person acting under color of law intercepts a
2-2 wire, oral, or electronic communication if the person is a party to
2-3 the communication or if one of the parties to the communication has
2-4 given prior consent to the interception;
2-5 (4) a person not acting under color of law intercepts
2-6 a wire, oral, or electronic communication if all <the person is a
2-7 party to the communication or if one> of the parties to the
2-8 communication have <has> given prior consent to the interception
2-9 unless the communication is intercepted for the purpose of
2-10 committing any criminal or tortious act in violation of the
2-11 constitution or laws of the United States or of this state or for
2-12 the purpose of committing any other injurious act;
2-13 (5) a person acting under color of law intercepts a
2-14 wire, oral, or electronic communication if:
2-15 (A) prior consent for the interception has been
2-16 given by a magistrate;
2-17 (B) an immediate life-threatening situation
2-18 exists;
2-19 (C) the person is a member of a law enforcement
2-20 unit specially trained to:
2-21 (i) respond to and deal with
2-22 life-threatening situations; or
2-23 (ii) install electronic, mechanical, or
2-24 other devices; and
2-25 (D) the interception ceases immediately on
2-26 termination of the life-threatening situation;
2-27 (6) an officer, employee, or agent of the Federal
3-1 Communications Commission intercepts a communication transmitted by
3-2 radio or discloses or uses an intercepted communication in the
3-3 normal course of employment and in the discharge of the monitoring
3-4 responsibilities exercised by the Federal Communications Commission
3-5 in the enforcement of Chapter 5, Title 47, United States Code;
3-6 (7) a person intercepts or obtains access to an
3-7 electronic communication that was made through an electronic
3-8 communication system that is configured to permit the communication
3-9 to be readily accessible to the general public;
3-10 (8) a person intercepts radio communication that is
3-11 transmitted:
3-12 (A) by a station for the use of the general
3-13 public;
3-14 (B) to ships, aircraft, vehicles, or persons in
3-15 distress;
3-16 (C) by a governmental, law enforcement, civil
3-17 defense, private land mobile, or public safety communications
3-18 system that is readily accessible to the general public;
3-19 (D) by a station operating on an authorized
3-20 frequency within the bands allocated to the amateur, citizens band,
3-21 or general mobile radio services; or
3-22 (E) by a marine or aeronautical communications
3-23 system;
3-24 (9) a person intercepts a wire or electronic
3-25 communication the transmission of which causes harmful interference
3-26 to a lawfully operating station or consumer electronic equipment,
3-27 to the extent necessary to identify the source of the interference;
4-1 (10) a user of the same frequency intercepts a radio
4-2 communication made through a system that uses frequencies monitored
4-3 by individuals engaged in the provision or the use of the system,
4-4 if the communication is not scrambled or encrypted; or
4-5 (11) a provider of electronic communications service
4-6 records the fact that a wire or electronic communication was
4-7 initiated or completed in order to protect the provider, another
4-8 provider furnishing service towards the completion of the
4-9 communication, or a user of that service from fraudulent, unlawful,
4-10 or abusive use of the service.
4-11 SECTION 2. Section 5, Chapter 275, Acts of the 67th
4-12 Legislature, Regular Session, 1981, and Section 1, Chapter 587,
4-13 Acts of the 69th Legislature, Regular Session, 1985, are repealed.
4-14 SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
4-15 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
4-16 Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
4-17 the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
4-18 before that date.
4-19 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
4-20 Act is governed by the law in effect when the offense was
4-21 committed, and the former law is continued in effect for this
4-22 purpose.
4-23 SECTION 4. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
4-24 section, this Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
4-25 (b) Section 2 of this Act takes effect on the earliest
4-26 possible date permitted by Article III, Section 39, of the Texas
4-27 Constitution.
5-1 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
5-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.