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.