By Allen                                        H.B. No. 1176

      75R4279 GWK-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to public access to conviction and deferred adjudication

 1-3     information and to certain sex offender registration information

 1-4     maintained by the Department of Public Safety.

 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-6           SECTION 1.  Section 411.088, Government Code, is amended to

 1-7     read as follows:

 1-8           Sec. 411.088.  FEES.  [(a)]  The department may charge a

 1-9     person that is not primarily a criminal justice agency a fee for

1-10     processing  inquiries for criminal history record information and

1-11     information described as public information under Section 5,

1-12     Article 6252-13c.1, Revised Statutes.  The department may charge:

1-13                 (1)  a fee of $10 for each inquiry for criminal history

1-14     record information or information described as public information

1-15     on a person that is processed only on the basis of the person's

1-16     name, unless the inquiry is submitted electronically or by magnetic

1-17     media, in which event the fee is $1;

1-18                 (2)  a fee of $15 for each inquiry for criminal history

1-19     record information or information described as public information

1-20     on a person that  is processed on the basis of a fingerprint

1-21     comparison search; and

1-22                 (3)  actual costs for processing all other information

1-23     inquiries.

1-24           SECTION 2.  Subchapter F, Chapter 411, Government Code, is

 2-1     amended by adding Section 411.135 to read as follows:

 2-2           Sec. 411.135.  ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION BY PUBLIC.  (a)

 2-3     Any person is entitled to obtain from the department:

 2-4                 (1)  any information described as public information

 2-5     under Section 5, Article 6252-13c.1, Revised Statutes; and

 2-6                 (2)  criminal history record information maintained by

 2-7     the department that is a court record of a public judicial

 2-8     proceeding and that relates to:

 2-9                       (A)  the conviction of a person for any criminal

2-10     offense; or

2-11                       (B)  a grant of deferred adjudication to a person

2-12     charged with a felony offense.

2-13           (b)  The department by rule shall design and implement a

2-14     system to respond to electronic inquiries and other inquiries for

2-15     information described  by Subsection (a).

2-16           (c)  A person who obtains information from the department

2-17     under Subsection (a) may:

2-18                 (1)  use the information for any purpose; or

2-19                 (2)  release the information to any other person.

2-20           SECTION 3.  The Department of Public Safety shall implement

2-21     the system described by Section 411.135, Government Code, as added

2-22     by this Act, no  later than January 1, 1998.

2-23           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-24           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-25     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-26     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-27     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 3-1     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.