JWW C.S.S.B. 1756 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS PUBLIC SAFETY C.S.S.B. 1756 By: Fraser (Naishtat) 5-8-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Currently, the Texas Association of Records Specialists is made up of records companies whose business is to secure records as a third party for use in litigation. There are more than 100 records companies in Texas obtaining in excess of 750,000 written deposition requests annually. These companies are retained by attorneys in the discovery phase of a court proceeding to secure various records by an authorization or subpoena issued pursuant to a written or oral disposition. These records companies may be required to be licensed even though they are a third party acting on a court-ordered subpoena. S.B. 1756 would exempt persons obtaining records under an authorization or subpoena issued pursuant to a written or oral deposition from licensing under the Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act. PURPOSE This bill outlines provisions regarding the exemption of certain persons from the provisions of the Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY This bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 3(a), Article 4413(29bb), V.T.C.S. (Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act), as follows: (a) This bill amends Subdivisions (11)(19)(26)(31) and (32), which describe persons to which this Act does not apply. (11) A common carrier by rail engaged in interstate commerce and regulated by state and federal authorities and transporting commodities essential to the national defense and to the general welfare and safety of the community. (19) An officer, agent, or employee of a common carrier as defined by Section 153(10), Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.A. Sec. 151 et seq.), while protecting the carrier, or a user of the carrier's long-distance services from fraudulent, unlawful, or abuse of those long-distance services. (26) A charitable, nonprofit organization that provides medical alert services for persons who are sick or disabled. The organization must be exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3), Internal revenue Code of 1986; has its monitoring services provided by a licensed person, licensed nurse, licensed physician assistant, or hospital or a subsidiary of a hospital licensed under Chapter 241, Health and Safety Code; or does not perform a service requiring a license under this Act. (31) A person who does not perform any other act that requires a license under this Act, who is engaged in obtaining information classified as a public record under Chapter 552, Government Code. This does not apply to a full-time employee, as defined in Section 61.001, Labor Code, of a person licensed under this Act. (32) This Subdivision is added to state that this Act does not apply to a person who obtains a document for use in litigation by an authorization or subpoena issued for a written or oral deposition. SECTION 2. Effective Date: September 1, 1997. SECTION 3. Emergency Clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The caption is amended to specify that this Act, which exempts certain individuals from the Private Investigators and Security Agencies Act, applies to certain nonprofit medical alert service providers, persons obtaining public records, and persons obtaining certain documents for use in litigation. (a)(11) This subdivision is amended to strike "the provisions of this Act shall not apply to". The word "carrier" replaces "carriers". (19) Makes a conforming change to replace Section "153(h)" with Section "153(10)" regarding the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.A. Sec. 151 et seq.). (26)(B) This subdivision is amended to include licensed nurses, licensed physician assistants. (31) This subdivision is added. (32) Originally Subdivision (31). This subdivision is amended to apply to a single document rather than several "documents".