By:  West, et al.                                     S.B. No. 1580
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                       AN ACT
 1-1     relating to the creation of the Texas Violent Gang Task Force.
 1-2           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-3           SECTION 1.  Chapter 61, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
 1-4     amended by adding Article 61.07 to read as follows:
 1-5           Art. 61.07.  TEXAS VIOLENT GANG TASK FORCE.  (a)  In this
 1-6     article, "task force" means the Texas Violent Gang Task Force.
 1-7           (b)  The purpose of the task force is to form a strategic
 1-8     partnership between state, federal, and local law enforcement
 1-9     agencies to better enable law enforcement and correctional agencies
1-10     to take a proactive stance towards tracking gang activity and the
1-11     growth and spread of gangs statewide.
1-12           (c)  The task force shall focus its efforts on:
1-13                 (1)  developing a statewide networking system that will
1-14     provide timely access to gang information;
1-15                 (2)  establishing communication between different law
1-16     enforcement agencies, combining independent agency resources, and
1-17     joining agencies together in a cooperative effort to focus on gang
1-18     membership, gang activity, and gang migration trends; and
1-19                 (3)  forming a working group of law enforcement and
1-20     correctional representatives from throughout the state to discuss
1-21     specific cases and investigations involving gangs and other related
1-22     gang activities.
1-23           (d)  The task force may take any other actions as necessary
1-24     to accomplish the purposes of this article.
 2-1           (e)  The Department of Public Safety shall support the task
 2-2     force to assist in coordinating statewide antigang initiatives.
 2-3           (f)  The task force shall consist of:
 2-4                 (1)  a representative of the Department of Public
 2-5     Safety designated by the director of that agency;
 2-6                 (2)  a representative of the Texas Department of
 2-7     Criminal Justice designated by the executive director of that
 2-8     agency;
 2-9                 (3)  a representative of the Texas Youth Commission
2-10     designated by the executive director of that agency;
2-11                 (4)  a representative of the Texas Juvenile Probation
2-12     Commission designated by the executive director of that agency;
2-13                 (5)  a representative of the Criminal Justice Policy
2-14     Council designated by the executive director of that agency;
2-15                 (6)  a representative of the office of the attorney
2-16     general designated by the attorney general; and
2-17                 (7)  three local law enforcement or adult or juvenile
2-18     community supervision personnel and a prosecuting attorney
2-19     designated by the governor.
2-20           SECTION 2.  Not later than October 1, 1999, the governor, the
2-21     attorney general, the director of the Department of Public Safety
2-22     of the State of Texas, and the executive directors of the Texas
2-23     Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas Youth Commission, the
2-24     Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, and the Criminal Justice
2-25     Policy Council shall designate their respective representatives to
2-26     the Texas Violent Gang Task Force created under Article 61.07, Code
 3-1     of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act.
 3-2           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
 3-3     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
 3-4     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
 3-5     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
 3-6     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
 3-7     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
 3-8     passage, and it is so enacted.