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79R7209 KLA-D
By: Harris S.B. No. 1148
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to protecting the confidentiality of certain identifying
personal information contained in court records.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 74, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 74.0241 to read as follows:
Sec. 74.0241. RULES REGARDING SENSITIVE INFORMATION. (a)
In adopting rules of administration under Section 74.024, the
supreme court shall require that in each action filed in a court of
this state, each person filing a pleading or document in the action
must submit to the court and to the other parties to the action a
form containing sensitive information relevant to the action as
described by Subsection (b). The form may be in paper or electronic
format.
(b) Each person filing a pleading or document in an action
must include on the sensitive information form the following
information, if known by the person and if relevant to the action,
with respect to each person involved in the action:
(1) the person's complete:
(A) date of birth and social security number;
(B) bank or other financial account numbers and
any corresponding personal identification numbers;
(C) credit card numbers and any corresponding
personal identification numbers; and
(D) driver's license number and state of issuance
and the number of any other identification card issued by a state or
the federal government, including a passport, but not including a
state bar card;
(2) if the person is a victim, as defined by Article
56.32, Code of Criminal Procedure, the person's complete address
and telephone number; and
(3) if the person is a child, the child's full name.
(c) Unless the court orders otherwise and except as provided
by Subsection (d), a person filing a pleading or another document in
an action may not include any of the information described by
Subsection (b)(1), (2), or (3) in the pleading or document,
regardless of:
(1) whether the pleading or document is filed in paper
or electronic format; or
(2) the identity of the person to whom the information
relates.
(d) Unless the court orders otherwise, if information
described by Subsection (b)(1), (2), or (3) is required to be
included in a pleading or other document filed in an action, the
person filing the pleading or document must refer to the
information in the following manner:
(1) if the information is a social security number or
is a bank or other financial account number, credit card number, or
a corresponding personal identification number, the person may only
use the last four digits of the number;
(2) if the information relates to the identity of a
child, the person may only use the child's initials; and
(3) if the information refers to a date of birth, the
person may only use the month and year of the date of birth.
(e) A person who files a pleading or other document in an
action and the person's attorney, if applicable, shall ensure that
information described by Subsection (b)(1), (2), or (3) is omitted
or redacted from the pleading or other document, except as provided
by Subsection (d) or as otherwise ordered by the court. The court,
including the court clerk, is not required to review the pleading or
document to determine whether the information included in the
pleading or document complies with this section.
(f) Unless the court orders otherwise and notwithstanding
Rule 12, Texas Rules of Judicial Administration, information
contained on the sensitive information form is confidential and not
subject to public release under Chapter 552 by any means, including
by electronic means.
(g) The supreme court shall adopt rules of administration to
implement and supplement this section. The rules must:
(1) further the purpose of preventing identity theft
and other forms of financial exploitation by minimizing the
distribution and publication of identifying personal information
contained in court records;
(2) include procedures to ensure that persons filing
pleadings and other documents in actions comply with the
requirements of this section; and
(3) include standards for use by a court in
determining whether to order:
(A) a person to include information in a pleading
or other document that would otherwise be excluded under
Subsections (c) and (d); or
(B) the release of otherwise confidential
information under Subsection (f).
(h) To the extent this section conflicts with the Texas
Rules of Judicial Administration or other rules, this section
controls.
SECTION 2. The Texas Supreme Court shall adopt the rules
required by Section 74.0241, Government Code, as added by this Act,
not later than December 1, 2005. The rules adopted by the Texas
Supreme Court under that section apply to a pleading or other
document filed on or after December 1, 2005, regardless of the date
the action to which the pleading or document pertains was filed.
SECTION 3. 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.