BILL ANALYSIS
By: Madden
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 428 amends the Government Code to authorize the inspector general of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (inspector general) to issue an administrative subpoena to a communications common carrier or an electronic communications service to compel the production of the carrier's or service's business records that disclose information about the carrier's or service's customers or users of the services offered by the carrier or service and that are material to a criminal investigation of a potential escape, violation of Section 38.11, Penal Code, or other offense involving inmates or the operations of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
C.S.H.B. 428 provides that, in Section 493.0191, Government Code, "communications common carrier" means a person that provides commercial telephone services or a provider that bills customers for those services, regardless of the technology used to provide the service. C.S.H.B. 428 provides that, in Section 493.0191, Government Code, "electronic communications service" means a service that provides to users of the service the ability to send or receive wire or electronic communications.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2007.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
H.B. 428 provides that, in Section 493.0191, Government Code, "communications common carrier" means a person engaged as a common carrier for hire in the transmission of wire or electronic communications.
C.S.H.B. 428 provides that, in Section 493.0191, Government Code, "communications common carrier" means a person that provides commercial telephone services or a provider that bills customers for those services, regardless of the technology used to provide the service.