BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3303

By: Kent

County Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

In 2007, over 100 women were killed in Texas by their intimate partners.  Current law provides a framework for family violence community partners to come together to review fatality cases to determine what could have been done to prevent these deaths.  Only a handful of Texas communities have domestic violence fatality reviews, partly because of the potential for criminal and civil subpoenas to be issued to participants for the information generated in reviews.

H.B. 3303 establishes immunity from subpoena for certain types of information gathered in an adult fatality review and investigation.

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

H.B. 3303 amends the Health and Safety Code to prohibit information, documents, and records that are confidential under provisions relating to an adult fatality review and investigation from being introduced into evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding and establishes that these documents, records, and information are not subject to subpoena or discovery.  The bill provides that a document or other information that is otherwise available from another source is not protected from subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence solely because the document or information was acquired by a review team in the exercise of its duties. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2009.