SRC-SLL, SLL, DPW S.B. 8 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research CenterS.B. 8
By: West
Criminal Justice
8/23/1999
Enrolled


DIGEST 

Currently, Texas law allows a criminal justice agency to compile certain
information for the purpose of investigating or prosecuting the criminal
activities of combinations.  A local criminal justice agency is currently
prohibited from sending this information to a statewide database, but is
permitted to compile this information in a local or regional database.
Collecting and maintaining criminal intelligence information on individuals
requires special treatment in order to ensure a person's constitutional
rights are never violated.  This bill requires the Texas Department of
Public Safety to establish and maintain a statewide criminal street gang
database, which operates in accordance with policies established in Title
28, Part 23 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and meets the submission
criteria for gangs and gang members established in the National Crime
Information Center Violent Gang and Terrorist Organizations File. 

PURPOSE

As enrolled, S.B. 8 authorizes a criminal justice agency to compile
criminal intelligence information pertaining to criminal street gangs. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends the heading of Chapter 61, Code of Criminal Procedure,
as follows: 

CHAPTER 61.  New heading: COMPILATION OF INFORMATION PERTAINING TO CRIMINAL
COMBINATIONS AND CRIMINAL STREET GANGS 

SECTION 2. Amends Article 61.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, by amending
Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (7) and (8), to define "criminal
street gang," "department," "intelligence database," and "law enforcement
agency." 

SECTION 3. Amends Article 61.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, as follows:

Art. 61.02. New heading: CRIMINAL COMBINATION AND CRIMINAL STREET GANG
INTELLIGENCE DATABASE; SUBMISSION CRITERIA.  Authorizes a criminal justice
agency to compile criminal information into an intelligence database,
rather than system, subject to Subsection (b) for the purpose of
investigating criminal street gangs.  Requires a law enforcement agency to
compile and maintain criminal information relating to a criminal street
gang in a local or regional intelligence database if the agency complies
with certain operating policies and submission criteria established under
Subsection (c).  Sets forth requirements for criminal information collected
under this chapter.  

SECTION 4.  Amends Article 61.03, Code of Criminal Procedure, by amending
Subsections (c) and (d) and by adding Subsection (e), to require a local
law enforcement agency to send information relating to criminal street
gangs compiled and maintained under this chapter to the Texas Department of
Public Safety (DPS), rather than prohibiting a criminal justice agency from
sending information collected under this chapter to a statewide database.
Requires DPS to establish an intelligence  database (database) and maintain
information received from an agency under Subsection (c) in the database in
accordance with certain operating policies and submission criteria.
Requires DPS to designate a code to distinguish criminal information
contained in the database relating to a  child from criminal information
relating to an adult offender. 

SECTION 5. Amends Article 61.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, by amending
Subsection (a) and by adding Subsection (d), to authorize information
relating to a child associated with a criminal street gang to be compiled
and released under this chapter regardless of the age of the child.
Authorizes a governing body of a county or municipality served by the local
law enforcement that collects criminal information under this chapter
(governing body) to adopt a policy to notify a parent or guardian of a
child of a local law enforcement agency's observations relating to the
child's association with criminal street gangs. 

SECTION 6.  Amends Article 61.06, Code of Criminal Procedure, as follows:

Art.  61.06.  New heading: REMOVAL OF RECORDS RELATING TO AN INDIVIDUAL
OTHER THAN A CHILD.  Provides that this article does not apply to
information collected under this chapter by the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice (TDCJ) or the Texas Youth Commission (TYC).  Requires
information collected under this chapter relating to a criminal street gang
to be removed from a database established under Article 61.02 amd the
database maintained by DPS under Article 61.03 after three years if certain
requirements are met. Provides that, in determining whether information is
required to be removed from a database, the three-year period does not
include any period during which the individual who is the subject of the
information is confined in the institutional division or the state jail
division of TDCJ. 

SECTION 7.  Amends Chapter 61, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding
Articles 61.07, 61.08, and 61.09, as follows: 

Art.  61.07.  REMOVAL OF RECORDS RELATING TO A CHILD.  Provides that this
article does not apply to information collected under this chapter by TDCJ
or TYC.  Requires information collected under this chapter relating to a
criminal street gang to be removed from certain databases after two years
if certain conditions are met.  Provides that the two-year period does not
include any period during which the child who is the subject of the
information is committed to TYC for conduct that violates a penal law of
the grade of felony or confined in the institutional division or the state
jail division of TDCJ.  

Art. 61.08. RIGHT TO REQUEST REVIEW OF CRIMINAL INFORMATION.  Requires the
head of a law enforcement agency to review criminal information collected
by that agency, upon request by a person or guardian of a child that
includes a showing by the person or the parent or guardian that a law
enforcement agency may have collected criminal information under this
chapter relating to the person or child that is inaccurate or that does not
comply with the submission criteria, to determine if reasonable suspicion
exists to believe that the information is accurate and the information
complies with the submission criteria.  Sets forth actions to be taken by
the agency head or designee to take certain actions after conducting a
review of criminal information under Subsection (a).  Requires DPS, on
receipt of notice, to immediately destroy all records containing the
information that is the subject of the notice in the database.  Provides
that a person who is committed to TYC or confined in the institutional
division or the state jail division of TDCJ does not, while committed or
confined, have the right to request review of criminal information under
this article. 

Art. 61.09. JUDICIAL REVIEW. Authorizes a person entitled to seek judicial
review of a determination to file a petition for review in district court
in the county in which the person resides.  Requires a district court, on a
filing of a petition for review, to conduct an in camera review of the
collected information to determine if reasonable suspicion exists to
believe that the information is accurate and complies with the submission
criteria.  Requires a court, if, after conducting an in camera review of
criminal information under Subsection (b),  the court finds that reasonable
suspicion does not exist to believe that the information is accurate or
does not comply with the submission criteria, to order the law enforcement
agency that collected the information to destroy all records containing the
information, and notify DPS of the court's determination and the
destruction of the records.  Authorizes a petitioner to appeal a final
judgment of a district court conducting an in camera review.  Provides that
information that is the subject of an in camera review under this article
is confidential and may not be disclosed.   

SECTION 8.  Makes application of this Act retroactive.

SECTION 9.  Provides that a law enforcement agency is not required to send
information to the database until September 1, 2000.  Sets forth time lines
for establishing the database.  Requires any law enforcement agency that
collected criminal information under Chapter 61, Code of Criminal
Procedure, to review certain information to determine if the information
was collected in accordance with certain operating policies and submission
criteria and purge all records containing information collected in a manner
not in accordance with certain operating policies and submission criteria,
not later than January 1, 2000.   

SECTION 10. Requires DPS to report on the implementation of the database no
later than December 1, 2000. 

SECTION 11.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 12.Emergency clause.