By Shapiro                                             S.B. No. 354
       74R2791 PEP-D
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to access to certain personal information by persons in
    1-3  the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; creating
    1-4  an offense and providing a penalty.
    1-5        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-6        SECTION 1.  Subchapter E, Chapter 497, Government Code, is
    1-7  amended by adding Section 497.097 to read as follows:
    1-8        Sec. 497.097.  LIMITATION OF ACCESS BY INMATES TO PERSONAL
    1-9  INFORMATION.  An entity using inmate labor under this chapter shall
   1-10  prevent access by an inmate at work to the following information
   1-11  about any individual:
   1-12              (1)  home telephone number;
   1-13              (2)  home address;
   1-14              (3)  address of place of employment;
   1-15              (4)  age;
   1-16              (5)  marital status;
   1-17              (6)  spouse's name;
   1-18              (7)  children's names and ages; and
   1-19              (8)  social security number.
   1-20        SECTION 2.  Chapter 38, Penal Code, is amended by adding
   1-21  Section 38.111 to read as follows:
   1-22        Sec. 38.111.  INMATE MISUSE OF INFORMATION GAINED THROUGH
   1-23  WORK PROGRAM.  (a)  An inmate of the institutional division or a
   1-24  person confined in a state jail felony facility commits an offense
    2-1  if with intent to obtain a benefit or with intent to harm or
    2-2  defraud another the inmate or person discloses or uses personal
    2-3  information about another that the inmate or person has access to
    2-4  by means of participation in a work program operated by or for the
    2-5  institutional division or state jail division.
    2-6        (b)  An offense under this section is a felony of the third
    2-7  degree.
    2-8        SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
    2-9        SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-10  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-11  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-12  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-13  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.