BILL ANALYSIS



By:  Cook
C.S.H.B. 269
04-11-95
Committee Report (Substituted)


BACKGROUND

The Criminal Justice Information System was created in 1989 to
serve as the central information source on criminals for the law
enforcement agencies of Texas.  In developing the system, one of
the project goals was "the elimination of current data collection
systems that will be redundant with CSTS information..."  However,
there was no provision in the Chapter 60 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure which provided that the redundant reporting of state
mandated information on defendants by local and county political
subdivisions could be eliminated.  As such, those individuals with
the Department of Safety and the Department of Criminal Justice
developing the system cannot eliminate several redundant data
elements from the system's reporting process.

PURPOSE

C.S.H.B. 269 instructs the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to
conduct a study, and pass certain rules, to eliminate the reporting
of information to the Criminal Justice Information System in a
redundant manner from the local and county law enforcement
agencies.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill expressly grants
additional rulemaking authority in SECTION 2, Article 60.08(a),
Code of Criminal Procedure, to the Department of Public Safety and
to the Department of Criminal Justice.  SECTION 4 provides that
these rules be adopted by January 1, 1996.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Article 60.06(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, by
amending subsection (2) and adding subsection (5) as follows:

     (2)  deletes language that exempted reports concerning the
     identity of a juvenile offender or the offender's parents from
     being transmitted to the TDCJ and DPS.

     (5)  requires each criminal justice agency to cooperate with
     the Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of
     Criminal Justice to identify and eliminate redundant reporting
     of information to the criminal justice information system.

SECTION 2.  Amends Article 60.08(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, by
adding subsection (2) which states that DPS and TDCJ shall, by
rule, develop reporting procedures to provide measures and policies
designed to identify and eliminate redundant reporting of
information to the criminal justice information system.

SECTION 3.  Amends Chapter 60, Code of Criminal Procedure, by
adding Article 60.19 as follows:

     Art. 60.19.    REPORT TO LEGISLATURE.

     (a)  Requires the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to
     analyze the department's existing reporting requirements for
     criminal justice agencies for the corrections tracking system
     and not later than December 1, 1996 report to the legislature
     the results of the analysis and recommendations for improving
     the reporting requirements.

     (b)  Provides that the report must contain an evaluation of
     the current corrections tracking system; an analysis of
     automated and manual reporting methods in the corrections
     tracking system; an outline of duplications in reporting in
     the corrections tracking system, including other automated or
     manual reporting under the department's control; an analysis
     of the feasibility of reducing or eliminating manual reporting
     by using existing data in the corrections tracking system; a
     list of the divisions in the department that should be
     accountable for ensuring that the recommendations are
     implemented; and a time line for implementing the automated
     corrections tracking system and reducing or eliminating manual
     reporting.  

     (c)  Provides that this article expires September 1, 1997.

SECTION 4.  Requires TDCJ and DPS to adopt the rules required by
Article 60.08(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this
Act, not later than January 1, 1996.

SECTION 5.  Emergency clause. Effective date.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

The original bill provided for a county, when transferring an
inmate to the institutional division of TDCJ, to not have to
deliver information relating to the defendant that was available to
the division as information previously entered in the criminal
justice information system.  The substitute deletes this section,
and also deletes language that exempted reports concerning the
identity of a juvenile offender or the offender's parents from
being transmitted to the TDCJ and DPS.

The substitute adds a new Article 60.19, to Chapter 60, Code of
Criminal Procedure, to require  the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice to analyze the department's existing reporting requirements
for criminal justice agencies for the corrections tracking system
and report to the legislature the results of this report and
recommendations for improving the reporting requirements.

SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION

H.B. 269 was considered by the Committee on Corrections in a public
hearing on April 11, 1995.  The Chair recognized Representative
Cook to explain the bill.  The committee considered a complete
substitute for the bill.  The substitute was adopted without
objection.  The bill was reported favorably, as substituted, with
the recommendation that it do pass and be printed by a record vote
of 9 ayes, 0 nays, 0 pnv, and 0 absent.