BILL ANALYSIS



C.S.S.B. 42
By: Shapiro (Madden)
04-24-95
Committee Report (Substituted)


BACKGROUND

The Volunteer Center of Dallas was created by the 73rd Legislature
as a pilot program.  Currently, the Dallas center supplies criminal
history information on potential volunteers and employees to no-profit organizations by obtaining the information from the Texas
Department of Public Safety (DPS) at the request of a client
organization.  This service provides a cost-effective means for the
organizations to develop a pool of suitable workers.

PURPOSE

This bill would expand the Volunteer Center program statewide, give
the centers greater access to criminal history information, and
grant them limited immunity

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.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Repeals Section 411,087(e), Government Code, the state
law prohibiting volunteer centers from receiving federal criminal
history information.

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 411.126, Government Code, by deleting in
the title ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION: VOLUNTEER
CENTER OF DALLAS COUNTY the reference to "Dallas County" and
changes the word "Center" to "Centers."
     Subsection (a)(1)(C) is deleted.  
     Subsection (c) is deleted, and subsequent subsections
reordered.
     The subsection now designated (c) has a clause added that
permits the volunteer centers to charge a fee to cover the
department's direct costs of administering this program.
     A new subsection (f) is added to allow volunteer centers to
share technical and staff resources.
     A new subsection (g) limits a volunteer center's liability in
potential disputes, delineating the circumstances in which they are
exempt from prosection by incorporating additional language not
present in the engrossed Senate version of SB 42.

SECTION 3.  Effective date

SECTION 4.  Effective date stipulations.

SECTION 5.  Emergency clause.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

In the substitute, SECTION 2, Subsection 4(g), there are added
subpoints (1), (2), and (3) to make the liability exemptions for
volunteer centers facilitating the performance of criminal
background checks clear.  The additional language stipulates that
no volunteer center is liable for damages arising from the release
of information obtained under this section, the failure to release
or use information under this section, or the failure to obtain
information under this section.

SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION

S.B. 42 was considered by the committee in a public hearing on
April 11, 1995.  The committee considered a complete substitute for
the bill.  The substitute was adopted without objection.
The following persons testified for the bill: Mary Jo Dean,
representing the Texas Association of Volunteer Centers; Judge
Marshall Gandy, representing himself.
The bill was reported favorably as substituted with the
recommendation that it do pass and be printed by a record vote of
5 ayes, 0 nays, 0 pnv, and 4 absent.