BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3346

By: Burnam

Criminal Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

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 violent 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 the 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.

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. 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.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2011.