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Amend CSHB 2730 (House Committee Printing) by adding the
following appropriately numbered SECTION to ARTICLE 6 of the bill
and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS in Article 6 accordingly:
SECTION 6.____. (a) In this section:
(1) "Authorized employee" means an officer of the
Texas Highway Patrol or other law enforcement officer commissioned
by the director of the department.
(2) "Department" means the Department of Public
Safety.
(3) "Pilot program" means the pilot fingerprint
identification program established under this section.
(b) If sufficient funds are available, the department shall
develop and implement a program in one or more counties of this
state to pilot the use by authorized employees of a mobile
fingerprint identification system to perform fingerprint checks in
the field as an aid to law enforcement.
(c) In implementing the pilot program, the department shall
use a portable, lightweight mobile fingerprint scanner developed
for law enforcement that is secure, uses encrypted data
transmissions for protection of the public, and does not require
the authorized employee to carry additional equipment for the
scanner to receive the data. The department shall make its existing
automated fingerprint identification system available for use
during the period of the pilot program.
(d) The department shall comply with all state procurement
requirements in implementing the pilot program.
(e) The department may work with and enter into memorandums
of understanding with municipalities to implement the pilot
program.
(f) Under the pilot program, an authorized employee may not
check the fingerprint of a person without the verbal consent of that
person.
(g) The department may extend the pilot program to
additional counties if the department determines that the expansion
would be cost-effective.
(h) The department shall begin implementation of the pilot
program not later than January 1, 2010, and shall conduct the pilot
program for at least 12 months.
(i) Not later than February 1, 2011, the department shall
report to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the
house of representatives, and the Sunset Advisory Commission
regarding the pilot program. The report must include the
department's recommendations for continuation or expansion of the
pilot program and an evaluation of the department's use of the
mobile fingerprint identification system, including:
(1) the appropriateness of conducting remote
fingerprint checks;
(2) the value of remote fingerprint checking in
combating crime and enforcing department rules and other laws of
this state;
(3) the impact of using remote fingerprint checks on
the efficiency of authorized employees;
(4) the impact of using remote fingerprint checks on
the safety of authorized employees; and
(5) any reduction in inconvenience to a person who is
not carrying a required license.