HBA-DMD H.B. 137 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 137
By: McClendon
Public Safety
4/5/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND & PURPOSE

Currently, sex offenders convicted after September 1, 1995, are required to
register with local law enforcement authorities within seven days of moving
into a new neighborhood.  The offenders must provide the authorities with
their fingerprints, photograph, driver's license number, social security
number, and physical information such as height and weight.  Law
enforcement authorities must then publish the offender's age and gender; a
brief description of the offense committed; and the municipality, street
name, and zip code number where the offender plans to reside, in a one-day
advertisement in the community newspaper's legal notices.  H.B. 137
requires local law enforcement authorities to include the sex offenders'
full names and numeric street addresses in the published notice. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Article 62.03(f), Code of Criminal Procedure, to require
local law              enforcement authorities to include in a public
notice in a newspaper a person's full name, numeric street address or
physical address if a numeric address is not available, and a recent
photograph of the person.  

SECTION 2.  Amends Article 62.04(g), Code of Criminal Procedure, to make
conforming and     nonsubstantive changes. 

SECTION 3.  Amends Article 62.08(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, to delete
the provision which exempts the person's photograph and numeric street
address as information in the database available to the public. 

SECTION 4.  Effective date:  September 1, 1999.

SECTION 5.  Emergency clause.