SRC-JBJ S.B. 1486 76(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 1486
By: Armbrister
Criminal Justice
4/6/1999
As Filed


DIGEST 

Currently, a county or municipality performs an audit of certain law
enforcement agencies and attorneys representing the state that receive
seized or forfeited property.  The audit report must be forwarded to the
Criminal Justice Division of the Governor's Office (division).  The  law
enforcement agency or the attorney must also report to the division that
the agency or attorney did not receive proceeds or property under Chapter
59, Code of Criminal Procedure.   

Changing the entity responsible for the reports would benefit the division.
Since the division retains the reports, numerous open records requests
regarding asset forfeiture are submitted.  However, many of the reports are
never submitted to the division, and the division cannot produce the
report.  As a result, the division appears to not abide by open records
requirements, although it has no authority to compel a submission.
Furthermore, the division maintains no official use for the reports, yet
they consume staff time and storage space.  Therefore, the reports to the
division have become unnecessarily onerous.  S.B. 1486 makes the attorney
general, rather than the division, the depository for the audits. 

PURPOSE

As proposed, S.B. 1486 requires the attorney general, rather than the
criminal division of the governor's office, to receive certain filed audits
of a law enforcement agency and an attorney representing the state. 

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 Section 59.06(g), Code of Criminal Procedure, to require
an audit of certain law enforcement agencies to be performed by the
attorney general, rather than the Criminal Justice Division of the
Governor's Office (division).  Requires certified copies of the audit to be
delivered by the enforcement agency or attorney representing the state to
the general attorney, rather than delivered to the division.   

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 59.06(j), Code of Criminal Procedure, to require
a law enforcement agency or certain attorneys to report to the attorney
general, rather than the division, that the agency or attorneys did not
receive certain proceeds or property. 

SECTION 3.Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 4.Emergency clause.