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.