81R535 KCR-D

By: Flynn H.B. No. 79

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the payment of certain fees by sex offenders and the use of those fees for certain law enforcement purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Article 62.063 to read as follows:

Art. 62.063. LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY FEE. (a) A local law enforcement authority may charge and collect from a person required to register under this chapter the following fees:

(1) a fee in an amount not to exceed $50, to be charged and collected the first time the person registers or verifies registration with the authority under Article 62.051 or 62.052 and annually in each year that the person, during any month of the year, verifies registration with the authority under Article 62.052, 62.058, or 62.202; and

(2) following a change of address:

(A) a fee in an amount not to exceed $50, to be charged and collected the first time the person reports to the authority under Article 62.055, if at the time of the change of address the authority has not yet been designated as the person's primary registration authority; or

(B) a fee in an amount not to exceed $5, to be charged and collected the first time the person reports to the authority under Article 62.055, if at the time of the change of address the authority is designated as the person's primary registration authority.

(b) Not less than 90 percent of a fee collected under Subsection (a) shall be remitted to the comptroller of public accounts in the manner directed by the comptroller. Fees remitted under this subsection may be used only to defray the costs incurred by the department in performing the department's duties under this chapter.

(c) The portion of a fee that remains after remittance under Subsection (b) may be retained by the local law enforcement authority collecting the fee and used only to defray the costs incurred by the authority in performing the authority's duties under this chapter.

(d) A local law enforcement authority shall keep records of any fees collected under this article.

SECTION 2. Article 62.052(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

(a) An extrajurisdictional registrant is required to:

(1) comply with the annual verification requirements of Article 62.058 in the same manner as a person who is required to verify registration on the basis of a reportable conviction or adjudication; and

(2) pay fees under Article 62.063 in the same manner and in the same amount as a person who is required to pay those fees on the basis of a reportable conviction or adjudication.

SECTION 3. Article 62.053(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Before a person who will be subject to registration under this chapter is due to be released from a penal institution, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or the Texas Youth Commission shall determine the person's level of risk to the community using the sex offender screening tool developed or selected under Article 62.007 and assign to the person a numeric risk level of one, two, or three. Before releasing the person, an official of the penal institution shall:

(1) inform the person that:

(A) not later than the later of the seventh day after the date on which the person is released or after the date on which the person moves from a previous residence to a new residence in this state or not later than the later of the first date the applicable local law enforcement authority by policy allows the person to register or verify registration, the person must register or verify registration with the local law enforcement authority in the municipality or county in which the person intends to reside;

(B) not later than the seventh day after the date on which the person is released or the date on which the person moves from a previous residence to a new residence in this state, the person must, if the person has not moved to an intended residence, report to the juvenile probation officer, community supervision and corrections department officer, or parole officer supervising the person;

(C) not later than the seventh day before the date on which the person moves to a new residence in this state or another state, the person must report in person to the local law enforcement authority designated as the person's primary registration authority by the department and to the juvenile probation officer, community supervision and corrections department officer, or parole officer supervising the person;

(D) not later than the 10th day after the date on which the person arrives in another state in which the person intends to reside, the person must register with the law enforcement agency that is identified by the department as the agency designated by that state to receive registration information, if the other state has a registration requirement for sex offenders;

(E) not later than the 30th day after the date on which the person is released, the person must apply to the department in person for the issuance of an original or renewal driver's license or personal identification certificate and a failure to apply to the department as required by this paragraph results in the automatic revocation of any driver's license or personal identification certificate issued by the department to the person; [and]

(F) the person must notify appropriate entities of any change in status as described by Article 62.057; and

(G) the person may be required to pay the applicable fees described by Article 62.063;

(2) require the person to sign a written statement that the person was informed of the person's duties as described by Subdivision (1) or Subsection (g) or, if the person refuses to sign the statement, certify that the person was so informed;

(3) obtain the address where the person expects to reside on the person's release and other registration information, including a photograph and complete set of fingerprints; and

(4) complete the registration form for the person.

SECTION 4. Article 62.055, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:

(i) A person who reports to the person's primary registration authority or another local law enforcement authority as required by Subsection (a) shall pay to the authority each applicable fee that the authority requires the person to pay under Article 62.063, in the amount and at the time that is designated by the authority.

SECTION 5. Article 62.058, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:

(f) A person who reports to the person's primary registration authority as required by Subsection (a) shall pay to the authority each applicable fee that the authority requires the person to pay under Article 62.063, in the amount and at the time that is designated by the authority.

SECTION 6. Article 62.202, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

(c) A person who reports to the person's primary registration authority as required by Subsection (a) shall pay to the authority each applicable fee that the authority requires the person to pay under Article 62.063, in the amount and at the time that is designated by the authority.

SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act in amending Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, apply to a person subject to Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, for an offense committed or conduct engaged in before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.