BILL ANALYSIS
By: Pena
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Currently, the Texas statewide crime victim notification program is centrally managed by the Office of the Attorney General, but requires two separate service contracts for each participating county. These contracts must be processed through more than 160 separate fiscal court meetings on an annual basis.
C.S.H.B. 3585 seeks to consolidate the administrative contracts for the Texas statewide automated victim notification program. The bill authorizes the Office of Attorney General to provide a single administrative contract with a vendor to provide the services for the counties. This will reduce the administrative cost of the program and greatly increase the efficiency of the state and county personnel that manage the contracting processes for this service. This model is currently used by 28 other states that offer similar statewide automated victim notification programs.
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
The Committee Substitute to House Bill 3585 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure by adding Article 56.16, Code of Criminal Procedure, to require the attorney general to operate, through a service contract with a third party, a statewide automated victim notification system. The bill provides that the contract may be paid through money appropriated from the crime victims compensation fund. The bill requires the attorney general to operate the system in a manner that allows counties of this state and state agencies providing services to victims, guardians of victims, or close relatives of deceased victims, to access the system without entering into any contract with the third party with whom the attorney general has a service contract. Additionally, the bill requires the statewide automated victim notification system to provide to counties and state agencies, information regarding court proceedings relating to a defendant in a victim's case and information regarding the release, transfer, or escape of a defendant convicted in the victim's case. The bill also clarifies that this article does not create a cause of action against the state or a state agency, official or employee.
The bill provides that as soon as practicable after the effective date of the Act, and in accordance with the terms of the contract, the office of the attorney general is required to amend any existing contract with a third party for the provision of a statewide automated victim notification system to comply with Article 56.16, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by this Act.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2007.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
C.S.H.B. 3585 adds Subsection (c) to Article 56.16, Code of Criminal Procedure, which states that this article does not create a cause of action against the state or a state agency, official or employee.