BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 673

By: Johnson, Eric

Government Transparency & Operation

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties contend that the current method of submitting various reports related to criminal justice to the office of the attorney general is too burdensome and question whether the attorney general's annual report is the best method for presenting criminal justice statistics to the general public. C.S.H.B. 673 seeks to address these issues by creating a criminal justice web portal and changing certain deadlines for reports.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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

C.S.H.B. 673 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to change from not later than February 1 of each year to not later than March 1 of each year the deadline by which the office of the attorney general is required to submit the annual reports regarding all officer-involved injuries or deaths and regarding certain injuries or deaths of peace officers to the governor and the standing legislative committees with primary jurisdiction over criminal justice matters.

C.S.H.B. 673 amends the Government Code to require the office of the attorney general to develop, not later than September 1, 2018, and maintain a web portal to collect, compile, and analyze data related to criminal justice in Texas. The bill requires the office of the attorney general to ensure that the web portal is accessible through the state Internet portal project. The bill requires the attorney general to direct each law enforcement agency to submit through the web portal any report required to be submitted by the agency to the office of the attorney general under any law, excluding information reported under Code of Criminal Procedure provisions relating to the rights of crime victims. The bill requires the web portal to provide public access to reports submitted to the office of the attorney general through the web portal, other than reports that are confidential or protected from disclosure under state or federal law, and to include a publicly accessible interactive dashboard that provides an analysis and a visual representation of the data included in the reports. The bill authorizes the office of the attorney general in developing the web portal to contract or consult with a nonprofit organization that specializes in web-based data analysis.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2017.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 673 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

INTRODUCED	HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
No equivalent provision.	SECTION 1.  Article 2.139(e), Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by Chapter 516 (H.B. 1036), Acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, is amended to read as follows: (e)  Not later than March [February] 1 of each year, the office of the attorney general shall submit a report regarding all officer-involved injuries or deaths that occurred during the preceding year to the governor and the standing legislative committees with primary jurisdiction over criminal justice matters. The report must include: (1)  the total number of officer-involved injuries or deaths; (2)  a summary of the reports submitted to the office under this article; and (3)  a copy of each report submitted to the office under this article.
No equivalent provision.	SECTION 2.  Article 2.1395(c), Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows: (c)  Not later than March [February] 1 of each year, the office of the attorney general shall submit a report regarding all incidents described by Subsection (a) that occurred during the preceding year to the governor and the standing legislative committees with primary jurisdiction over criminal justice matters. The report must include: (1)  the total number of incidents that occurred; (2)  a summary of the reports submitted to the office under this article; and (3)  a copy of each report submitted to the office under this article.
SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 402, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 402.040 to read as follows: Sec. 402.040.  CRIMINAL JUSTICE WEB PORTAL.  (a)  The office of the attorney general shall develop and maintain a web portal to collect, compile, and analyze data related to criminal justice in this state.  The office shall ensure that the web portal is accessible through the state electronic Internet portal project. (b)  The attorney general shall direct each law enforcement agency to submit through the web portal any report required to be submitted by the agency to the office of the attorney general under any law, including information reported under Article 2.139, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by Chapter 516 (H.B. 1036), Acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, and Article 2.1395, Code of Criminal Procedure. (c)  The web portal must: (1)  provide access to reports submitted to the office of the attorney general through the web portal, other than reports that are confidential or protected from disclosure under state or federal law; and (2)  include an interactive dashboard that provides an analysis and a visual representation of the data included in the reports described by Subdivision (1). (d)  The reports and dashboard required by Subsection (c) must be accessible to the public. (e)  In developing the web portal, the office of the attorney general may contract or consult with a nonprofit organization that specializes in web-based data analysis.	SECTION 3.  Subchapter B, Chapter 402, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 402.040 to read as follows: Sec. 402.040.  CRIMINAL JUSTICE WEB PORTAL.  (a)  The office of the attorney general shall develop and maintain a web portal to collect, compile, and analyze data related to criminal justice in this state.  The office shall ensure that the web portal is accessible through the state electronic Internet portal project. (b)  The attorney general shall direct each law enforcement agency to submit through the web portal any report required to be submitted by the agency to the office of the attorney general under any law, including information reported under Article 2.139, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by Chapter 516 (H.B. 1036), Acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, and Article 2.1395, Code of Criminal Procedure, but excluding information reported under Chapter 56, Code of Criminal Procedure. (c)  The web portal must: (1)  provide access to reports submitted to the office of the attorney general through the web portal, other than reports that are confidential or protected from disclosure under state or federal law; and (2)  include an interactive dashboard that provides an analysis and a visual representation of the data included in the reports described by Subdivision (1). (d)  The reports and dashboard required by Subsection (c) must be accessible to the public. (e)  In developing the web portal, the office of the attorney general may contract or consult with a nonprofit organization that specializes in web-based data analysis.
SECTION 2.  Not later than September 1, 2018, the office of the attorney general shall develop the web portal required under Section 402.040, Government Code, as added by this Act.	SECTION 4. Same as introduced version.
SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.	SECTION 5. Same as introduced version.