JWW C.S.H.B. 399 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS PUBLIC SAFETY C.S.H.B. 399 By: Goodman 4-14-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Under current statute, a motor vehicle accident report filed after January 1, 1970, by a peace officer is a public record open for inspection. As a result of this provision, private entities such as automotive body shops and chiropractors began to use the information contained in accident reports to solicit persons involved in accidents who may have suffered injuries and/or vehicle damages. In some cases the solicitors refer accident victims to specific attorneys. Legislative attempts to restrict access to personal information contained in accident reports for purposes of solicitation began in 1991, by amending Section 35.54 of the Business and Commerce Code. The amendment provided that a person possessing information originating from law enforcement agencies could not use, or sell, the information to solicitors. The Attorney General (AG) found the amendment's broad language to be a restriction of commercial free speech. In 1995, as a result of this AG opinion, legislation was passed to narrow the restrictions to information available on accident reports. As a result, information contained in accident reports may be released to persons providing the relevant agency with two or more pieces of information relating to the accident limited to: 1) the date of the accident 2) the name of a person involved in the accident 3) the specific location of the accident. The above formation is readily available on daily police dispatch logs, which are not addressed by current statute, thus allowing businesses to continue to request accident reports for solicitation of accident victims. PURPOSE This bill will limit access to information regarding motor vehicle accidents to prevent business from soliciting business from persons involved in an accident. 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 Amends Subchapter D, Chapter 550, Transportation Code, by adding Section 550.0651. RELEASE OF OTHER INFORMATION RELATING TO ACCIDENTS. (a) This section applies to information reported under Section 601.004, Transportation Code, or Chapter 772, Health and Safety Code. This information relating to a motor vehicle accident, held by the Department of Public Safety or another governmental entity, includes information contained in 9-1-1 record, a dispatch log, or towing record. Any of the record that includes the accident date, the name of anyone involved, and the specific location. (b) Unless specified in subsection (c), this information will be limited to the department or a government agency using it for the purpose of accident prevention. (c) Upon payment of a fee and written request, the department or government entity may release accident information to the following: (1) entities addressed under subsection (b); (2) the law enforcement agency of the officer who investigated the accident and submitted the accident report; (3) upon subpoena, by the court hearing a case involving the accident; (4) anyone providing the name of anyone involved in the accident and one or both of the following subsections: (A) accident date; (B) specific address, highway, or street where the accident occurred. (d) The department of government entity will adopt a form to be used to determine if the person or entity requesting accident information is entitled to the information under subsection (c). (e) Anyone entitled to the information under subsection (c), can receive the information according to Subchapter F, Chapter 552, Government Code. The information requested must be in the form of: (1) an opportunity to view the original; (2) an electronic medium or computer format; (3) a paper copy . SECTION 2 Emergency Clause COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE SECTION 1 Section 550.0651(a) Adds to the list of information sources which are included in this section. (1) Chapter 772, Health and Safety Code is added. (2) Dispatch logs, towing records and 9-1-1 Service providers are added. (3) Originally the second half of subsection (a). (c)(4) The name of a person involved in the accident becomes a requirement. Information in subsections (A) and (B) are optional, at least one must be provided. (B) Formerly subsection (C), but makes the criteria regarding the accident site location more specific. The original subsection (B) is moved into (c).