SRC-EPT H.B. 406 78(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   H.B. 406
By: Miller (Williams)
Criminal Justice
5/22/2003
Engrossed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, a person accused or convicted of a crime is prohibited
from selling his or her account of the crime through a movie, book,
magazine article, recording, radio interview, or television interview.
However, current law does not prohibit a person accused or convicted of a
crime from profiting from an account of the crime through a web site or
telephone service such as a 1-900 number.  H.B. 406 prohibits a person
accused or convicted of a crime from profiting by selling accounts of the
crime through telephone services and electronic media. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

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

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Article 59.01(7), Code of Criminal Procedure, to
redefine "proceeds" to include telephone service and electronic media
format, including an Internet website, as sources of income a person
accused or convicted of a crime or the person's representative or
assigneee receives. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Article 59.06 (k) (1), Code of Criminal Procedure, to
require the attorney for the state to transfer all forfeited property that
is income from, or acquired with the income from, a movie, book, magazine
article, tape recording, phonographic record, radio or television
presentation, telephone service, electronic media format, including an
Internet website, or live entertainment in which a crime is reenacted to
the attorney general. 

SECTION 3.  Effective date:  September 1, 2003.