84R8993 JSC-F

By: Moody H.B. No. 1660

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to certain protective orders and magistrate's orders for emergency protection.

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

SECTION 1. Article 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by amending Subsections (h) and (k) and adding Subsections (h-1) and (k-1) to read as follows:

(h) As soon as possible but not later than the next business day after the date the [The] magistrate issues [issuing] an order for emergency protection under this article, the magistrate shall send a copy of the order to the chief of police in the municipality where the member of the family or household or individual protected by the order resides, if the person resides in a municipality, or to the sheriff of the county where the person resides, if the person does not reside in a municipality. The magistrate may send the copy of the order and any related information electronically or in any other manner that can be accessed by the chief of police or sheriff. If the victim of the offense is not present when the order is issued, the magistrate issuing the order shall order an appropriate peace officer to make a good faith effort to notify, within 24 hours, the victim that the order has been issued by calling the victim's residence and place of employment. The clerk of the court shall send a copy of the order to the victim at the victim's last known address as soon as possible but not later than the next business day after the date the order is issued.

(h-1) A magistrate or clerk of the court may delay sending the order under Subsection (h) only if the magistrate or clerk lacks information necessary to ensure service and enforcement.

(k) To ensure that an officer responding to a call is aware of the existence and terms of an order for emergency protection issued under this article, not later than the next business day after the date the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the location of the victim's current or last known address receives a copy of the order, the law enforcement agency shall enter the information required under Section 411.042(b)(6), Government Code, into the statewide law enforcement information system maintained by the Department of Public Safety [each municipal police department and sheriff shall establish a procedure within the department or office to provide adequate information or access to information for peace officers of the names of persons protected by an order for emergency protection issued under this article and of persons to whom the order is directed. The police department or sheriff may enter an order for emergency protection issued under this article in the department's or office's record of outstanding warrants as notice that the order has been issued and is in effect].

(k-1) A law enforcement agency may delay entering the information required under Subsection (k) only if the agency lacks information necessary to ensure service and enforcement.

SECTION 2. Article 17.292(m), Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Subdivision (3) to read as follows:

(3) "Business day" means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or state or national holiday.

SECTION 3. Section 85.042, Family Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsections (f) and (g) to read as follows:

(a) Not later than the next business day after the date [The clerk of] the court issues [issuing] an original or modified protective order under this subtitle, the clerk of the court shall send a copy of the order, along with the information provided by the applicant or the applicant's attorney that is required under Section 411.042(b)(6), Government Code, to:

(1) the chief of police of the municipality in which the person protected by the order resides, if the person resides in a municipality;

(2) the appropriate constable and the sheriff of the county in which the person resides, if the person does not reside in a municipality; and

(3) the Title IV-D agency, if the application for the protective order indicates that the applicant is receiving services from the Title IV-D agency.

(d) The applicant or the applicant's attorney shall provide to the clerk of the court:

(1) the name and address of each law enforcement agency, child-care facility, school, and other individual or entity to which the clerk is required to send [mail] a copy of the order under this section; and

(2) any other information required under Section 411.042(b)(6), Government Code.

(f) The clerk of the court may transmit the order and any related information electronically or in another manner that can be accessed by the recipient.

(g) In this section, "business day" means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or state or national holiday.

SECTION 4. Section 86.0011, Family Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 86.0011. DUTY TO ENTER INFORMATION INTO STATEWIDE LAW ENFORCEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM. On receipt of an original or modified protective order from the clerk of the issuing court, a law enforcement agency shall immediately, but not later than the third [10th] day after the date the order is received, enter the information required by Section 411.042(b)(6), Government Code, into the statewide law enforcement information system maintained by the Department of Public Safety.

SECTION 5. Section 411.042(b), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) The bureau of identification and records shall:

(1) procure and file for record photographs, pictures, descriptions, fingerprints, measurements, and other pertinent information of all persons arrested for or charged with a criminal offense or convicted of a criminal offense, regardless of whether the conviction is probated;

(2) collect information concerning the number and nature of offenses reported or known to have been committed in the state and the legal steps taken in connection with the offenses, and other information useful in the study of crime and the administration of justice, including information that enables the bureau to create a statistical breakdown of:

(A) offenses in which family violence was involved;

(B) offenses under Sections 22.011 and 22.021, Penal Code; and

(C) offenses under Sections 20A.02 and 43.05, Penal Code;

(3) make ballistic tests of bullets and firearms and chemical analyses of bloodstains, cloth, materials, and other substances for law enforcement officers of the state;

(4) cooperate with identification and crime records bureaus in other states and the United States Department of Justice;

(5) maintain a list of all previous background checks for applicants for any position regulated under Chapter 1702, Occupations Code, who have undergone a criminal history background check under Section 411.119, if the check indicates a Class B misdemeanor or equivalent offense or a greater offense;

(6) collect information concerning the number and nature of protective orders and magistrate's orders of emergency protection and all other pertinent information about all persons on active [protective] orders, including pertinent information about persons subject to conditions of bond imposed for the protection of the victim in any family violence, sexual assault or abuse, or stalking case. Information in the law enforcement information system relating to an active [protective] order shall include:

(A) the name, sex, race, date of birth, personal descriptors, address, and county of residence of the person to whom the order is directed;

(B) any known identifying number of the person to whom the order is directed, including the person's social security number or driver's license number;

(C) the name and county of residence of the person protected by the order;

(D) the residence address and place of employment or business of the person protected by the order, unless that information is excluded from the order under Section 85.007, Family Code, or Article 17.292(e), Code of Criminal Procedure;

(E) the child-care facility or school where a child protected by the order normally resides or which the child normally attends, unless that information is excluded from the order under Section 85.007, Family Code;

(F) the relationship or former relationship between the person who is protected by the order and the person to whom the order is directed;

(G) the conditions of bond imposed on the person to whom the order is directed, if any, for the protection of a victim in any family violence, sexual assault or abuse, or stalking case; [and]

(H) the minimum distance the person subject to the order is required to maintain from the protected places or persons; and

(I) the date the order expires;

(7) grant access to criminal history record information in the manner authorized under Subchapter F;

(8) collect and disseminate information regarding offenders with mental impairments in compliance with Chapter 614, Health and Safety Code; and

(9) record data and maintain a state database for a computerized criminal history record system and computerized juvenile justice information system that serves:

(A) as the record creation point for criminal history record information and juvenile justice information maintained by the state; and

(B) as the control terminal for the entry of records, in accordance with federal law and regulations, federal executive orders, and federal policy, into the federal database maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply to a protective order or magistrate's order of emergency protection issued on or after the effective date of this Act, regardless of whether the conduct on which the order is based occurred before, on, or after that date.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.