BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

Senate Research Center

H.B. 3346

82R13726 AJZ-D

By: Burnam et al. (Whitmire)

 

Criminal Justice

 

5/19/2011

 

Engrossed

 

 

 

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

Texas is one of the few states that includes the names and addresses of employers of a sex offender in the public sex offender registration central database.  Some employers have been hesitant to hire sex offenders and some have terminated employees after discovering that the names and addresses of their businesses are identified in the public database.

 

Currently, a majority of the states exclude certain employer information from sex offender databases.  It is asserted that the successful reintegration of sex offenders into society is increasingly difficult due to certain policies designed to alert communities to the presence of sex offenders.

 

A national organization that promotes sex offender management reports that the employment instability of sex offenders is a key risk factor that predicts both violence and sexual recidivism.  There is a strong consensus among treatment providers that successful reintegration of sex offenders is possible if these risk factors are minimized.

 

In order to successfully reduce recidivism and increase community reintegration of sex offenders, it is asserted by interested parties that the state must minimize barriers to their employment.  H.B. 3346 seeks to resolve this issue by changing statutes relating to certain information available to the public on a central database containing information about sex offenders.

 

H.B. 3346 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to specify that any information contained in the central database of the sex offender registration program regarding the name, address, or telephone number of the employer of a person who is required to register under the program is not public information.

 

H.B. 3346 amends current law relating to certain information available to the public on a central database containing information about sex offenders.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1.  Amends Article 62.005(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, to provide that the information contained in the computerized central database containing information required for registration under this chapter, including the numeric risk level assigned to a person under this chapter, is public information, with the exception of certain information, including information that is described by Article 62.051(c)(7) (relating to the identification of any online identifier) or required by the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas (DPS) under Article 62.051(c)(8) (relating to any other information required by DPS), including any information regarding an employer's name, address, or telephone number.

 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 2011.