1-1     By:  Allen, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Brown)           H.B. No. 1176

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 9, 1997;

 1-3     May 12, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on State

 1-4     Affairs; May 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:

 1-5     Yeas 13, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to public access to conviction and deferred adjudication

 1-9     information and to certain sex offender registration information

1-10     maintained by the Department of Public Safety.

1-11           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-12           SECTION 1.  Section 411.088, Government Code, is amended to

1-13     read as follows:

1-14           Sec. 411.088.  FEES.  [(a)]  The department may charge a

1-15     person that is not primarily a criminal justice agency a fee for

1-16     processing  inquiries for criminal history record information and

1-17     information described as public information under Section 5,

1-18     Article 6252-13c.1, Revised Statutes.  The department may charge:

1-19                 (1)  a fee of $10 for each inquiry for criminal history

1-20     record information or information described as public information

1-21     on a person that is processed only on the basis of the person's

1-22     name, unless the inquiry is submitted electronically or by magnetic

1-23     media, in which event the fee is $1;

1-24                 (2)  a fee of $15 for each inquiry for criminal history

1-25     record information or information described as public information

1-26     on a person that  is processed on the basis of a fingerprint

1-27     comparison search; and

1-28                 (3)  actual costs for processing all other information

1-29     inquiries.

1-30           SECTION 2.  Subchapter F, Chapter 411, Government Code, is

1-31     amended by adding Section 411.135 to read as follows:

1-32           Sec. 411.135.  ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION BY PUBLIC.  (a)

1-33     Any person is entitled to obtain from the department:

1-34                 (1)  any information described as public information

1-35     under Section 5, Article 6252-13c.1, Revised Statutes; and

1-36                 (2)  criminal history record information maintained by

1-37     the department that is a court record of a public judicial

1-38     proceeding and that relates to:

1-39                       (A)  the conviction of a person for any criminal

1-40     offense; or

1-41                       (B)  a grant of deferred adjudication to a person

1-42     charged with a felony offense.

1-43           (b)  The department by rule shall design and implement a

1-44     system to respond to electronic inquiries and other inquiries for

1-45     information described  by Subsection (a).

1-46           (c)  A person who obtains information from the department

1-47     under Subsection (a) may:

1-48                 (1)  use the information for any purpose; or

1-49                 (2)  release the information to any other person.

1-50           SECTION 3.  The Department of Public Safety shall implement

1-51     the system described by Section 411.135, Government Code, as added

1-52     by this Act, no  later than January 1, 1998.

1-53           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-54           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-55     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-56     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-57     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-58     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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