1-1     By:  Wise (Senate Sponsor - Lucio)                    H.B. No. 1912

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 12, 1997;

 1-3     May 13, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal

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

 1-5     Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to the reporting of certain information to the national

 1-9     crime information center.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 79.008, Human Resources Code, is amended

1-12     by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (d)-(f) to read

1-13     as follows:

1-14           (a)  Local law enforcement agencies, on receiving a report of

1-15     a missing child or a missing person, shall:

1-16                 (1)  if the subject of the report is a child and the

1-17     well-being of the child is in danger, immediately start an

1-18     investigation in order to determine the present location of the

1-19     child;

1-20                 (2)  if the subject of the report is a person other

1-21     than a child or if the subject of the report is a child whose

1-22     well-being is not considered to be in danger, start an

1-23     investigation with due diligence in order to determine the present

1-24     location of the person; [and]

1-25                 (3)  immediately enter the name of the child or person

1-26     into the clearinghouse and the national crime information center

1-27     missing person file if the child or person meets the center's

1-28     criteria, with all available identifying features such as dental

1-29     records, fingerprints, other physical characteristics, and a

1-30     description of the clothing worn when last seen, and all available

1-31     information describing any person reasonably believed to have taken

1-32     or retained the missing child or missing person; and

1-33                 (4)  inform the person who filed the report of the

1-34     missing child or missing person that the information will be

1-35     entered into the clearinghouse and the national crime information

1-36     center missing person file.

1-37           (d)  If a local law enforcement agency investigating a report

1-38     of a missing child or missing person obtains a warrant for the

1-39     arrest of a person for taking or retaining the missing child or

1-40     missing person, the local law enforcement agency shall immediately

1-41     enter the name and other descriptive information of the person into

1-42     the national crime information center wanted person file if the

1-43     person meets the center's criteria.  The  local law enforcement

1-44     agency shall also enter all available identifying features,

1-45     including dental records, fingerprints, and other physical

1-46     characteristics of the missing child or missing person.  The

1-47     information shall be cross-referenced with the information in the

1-48     national crime information center missing person file.

1-49           (e)  A local law enforcement agency that has access to the

1-50     national crime information center database shall cooperate with

1-51     other law enforcement agencies in entering or retrieving

1-52     information from the national crime information center database.

1-53           (f)  Immediately after the return of a missing child or

1-54     missing person or the identification of an unidentified body, the

1-55     local law  enforcement agency having jurisdiction of the

1-56     investigation shall cancel the entry in the national crime

1-57     information center database.

1-58           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-59           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-60     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-61     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-62     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-63     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.