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


Senate Research Center   S.B. 8
By: West
Criminal Justice
4/6/1999
As Filed


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 proposed, 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 Article 61.01(1), Code of Criminal Procedure, to define
"criminal street gang" and "gang intelligence database." 

SECTION 2. Amends Article 61.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, as follows:

Art. 61.02. New heading: CRIMINAL COMBINATION INFORMATION DATABASE.
Authorizes a criminal justice agency to compile criminal information into
an intelligence database, rather than system, subject to Subsections (b)
and (c).  Authorizes a law enforcement agency to compile and maintain
criminal intelligence information in a local or regional database if the
agency complies with certain operating policies and submission criteria.
Authorizes a local law enforcement agency to compile and maintain
intelligence information relating to a criminal street gang only if the
governing body of the municipality or county served by the local law
enforcement agency (governing body) authorizes such action. 

SECTION 3. Amends Articles 61.03(c) and (d), Code of Criminal Procedure, to
authorize 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) if authorized to do so by the
governing body, rather than prohibiting a criminal justice agency from
sending information collected under this chapter to a statewide database.
Requires the DPS to maintain information collected under this chapter in a
criminal database which operates in accordance with certain operating
policies and submission criteria. 

SECTION 4. Amends Article 61.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding
Subsection (d) as follows: 

(d) Authorizes a 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 5. Amends Chapter 61, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding
Articles 61.07 and 61.08, as follows: 

Art. 61.07. 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 about whom
information is collected, to determine if reasonable cause exists to
believe that the information is accurate.  Requires an agency to destroy
all records containing certain information and notify the person who
requested the review of the agency's determination and destruction of
records in question, if the agency head determines that reasonable cause
does not exist to believe that the information is accurate. Requires an
agency to notify a person who requested a review of the agency's
determination and the person's entitlement to seek judicial review of the
agency's determination, if reasonable cause exists to believe that
collected information is accurate. 

Art. 61.08. JUDICIAL REVIEW. Authorizes a person entitled to seek judicial
review of a determination to file a petition for review in district court.
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
cause exist to believe that the information is accurate.  Requires a court,
that finds that reasonable cause does not exist to believe that the
collected information is accurate, to order the law enforcement agency that
collected the information to destroy all records containing the
information.  Authorizes a petitioner to appeal a final judgment of a
district court conducting an in camera review. 

SECTION 6. Repealer:  Article 61.06, Code of Criminal Procedure
(Destruction of Records). 

SECTION 7. Requires any law enforcement agency that collected 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.   

SECTION 8. Requires the governor, lieutenant. governor and the speaker of
the house of representatives to establish a legislative oversight committee
to study the effectiveness of any criminal intelligence information system,
no later than September 1, 1999.  Requires the DPS to report on the use and
effectiveness of any criminal intelligence information system, no later
than December 1, 2000. 

SECTION 9.Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.