By: Madden (Senate Sponsor - Whitmire) H.B. No. 2197
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 21, 2005;
April 22, 2005, read first time and referred to Committee on
Criminal Justice; May 18, 2005, reported favorably by the
following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 18, 2005, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the availability to the public of photographs of an
inmate confined by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 552.029, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 552.029. RIGHT OF ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION
RELATING TO INMATE OF DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL
JUSTICE. Notwithstanding Section 508.313 or 552.134, the
following information about an inmate who is confined in a facility
operated by or under a contract with the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice is subject to required disclosure under Section
552.021:
(1) the inmate's name, identification number, age,
birthplace, department photograph, physical description, or
general state of health or the nature of an injury to or critical
illness suffered by the inmate;
(2) the inmate's assigned unit or the date on which the
unit received the inmate, unless disclosure of the information
would violate federal law relating to the confidentiality of
substance abuse treatment;
(3) the offense for which the inmate was convicted or
the judgment and sentence for that offense;
(4) the county and court in which the inmate was
convicted;
(5) the inmate's earliest or latest possible release
dates;
(6) the inmate's parole date or earliest possible
parole date;
(7) any prior confinement of the inmate by the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice or its predecessor; or
(8) basic information regarding the death of an inmate
in custody, an incident involving the use of force, or an alleged
crime involving the inmate.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
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