83R661 GCB-D

By: Estes S.B. No. 1088

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to warrants issued to obtain location information from wireless communications devices.

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

SECTION 1. Article 18.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

Art. 18.02. GROUNDS FOR ISSUANCE. A search warrant may be issued to search for and seize:

(1) property acquired by theft or in any other manner which makes its acquisition a penal offense;

(2) property specially designed, made, or adapted for or commonly used in the commission of an offense;

(3) arms and munitions kept or prepared for the purposes of insurrection or riot;

(4) weapons prohibited by the Penal Code;

(5) gambling devices or equipment, altered gambling equipment, or gambling paraphernalia;

(6) obscene materials kept or prepared for commercial distribution or exhibition, subject to the additional rules set forth by law;

(7) a drug, controlled substance, immediate precursor, chemical precursor, or other controlled substance property, including an apparatus or paraphernalia kept, prepared, or manufactured in violation of the laws of this state;

(8) any property the possession of which is prohibited by law;

(9) implements or instruments used in the commission of a crime;

(10) property or items, except the personal writings by the accused, constituting evidence of an offense or constituting evidence tending to show that a particular person committed an offense;

(11) persons; [or]

(12) contraband subject to forfeiture under Chapter 59 of this code; or

(13) location information as defined by Article 18.21.

SECTION 2. Section 1, Article 18.21, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Subdivision (4-a) to read as follows:

(4-a) "Location information" means any information that:

(A) concerns the location of a cellular telephone or other wireless communications device; and

(B) is wholly or partly generated by or derived from the operation of the device.

SECTION 3. Article 18.21, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Section 14A to read as follows:

Sec. 14A. WARRANT FOR LOCATION INFORMATION FROM CELLULAR TELEPHONE OR OTHER WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE. (a) A district judge may issue a warrant for location information provided by the preinstalled mobile tracking features of a cellular telephone or other wireless communications device. A warrant under this section may be issued only in the same judicial district as the site of:

(1) the investigation; or

(2) the person, vehicle, container, item, or object the movement of which will be tracked by the location information obtained from the wireless communications device.

(b) The warrant may authorize the acquisition of location information obtained from a wireless communications device that, at the time the location information is acquired, is located outside the judicial district but within the state if the applicant for the warrant reasonably believes the device to be located within the district at the time the warrant is issued.

(c) A district judge may issue the warrant only on the application of an authorized peace officer. An application must be written and signed and then sworn to or affirmed before the judge. The affidavit must:

(1) state the name, department, agency, and address of the applicant;

(2) identify the wireless communications device to be monitored;

(3) state the name of the owner or possessor of the device to be monitored;

(4) state the judicial district in which the device is reasonably expected to be located; and

(5) state the facts and circumstances that provide the applicant with probable cause to believe that:

(A) criminal activity has been, is, or will be committed; and

(B) acquisition of location information from the device is likely to produce evidence in a criminal investigation of the criminal activity described in Paragraph (A).

(d) A warrant issued under this section must be executed within the period provided by Article 18.07 by properly serving the warrant on a communication common carrier or an electronic communications service. A warrant issued under this section expires not later than the 90th day after the date the warrant is issued, and location information may not be obtained after the expiration date without an extension of the warrant. For good cause shown, the judge may grant an extension for an additional 90-day period.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.