BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	H.B. 3051
85R11656 AJZ-F	By: King, Phil (Hinojosa)
	Criminal Justice
	5/15/2017
	Engrossed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Current Texas statute regarding collection of race and ethnicity data does not conform to national standards for reporting race and ethnicity when this data is exchanged, stored, retrieved or analyzed in electronic form.

H.B. 3051 will amend existing Texas statutes to conform to nationally recognized standards for race and ethnicity reporting and driver licensing in use by other states, the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS), and Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS). This will help ensure reporting accuracy and minimize confusion. It will also bring uniformity to race and ethnicity codes for reporting requirements.

H.B. 3051 amends current law relating to the categories used to record the race or ethnicity of persons stopped for or convicted of traffic offenses.

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 2.132(a)(3), Code of Criminal Procedure, as follows:

(3) Provides that "race or ethnicity" means the following categories:

(A) Alaska native or American Indian;

(B) Asian or Pacific Islander;

(C) black;

(D) white; and

(E) Hispanic or Latino.

Deletes existing text defining "race or ethnicity" to mean of a particular descent, including Caucasian, African, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, or Middle Eastern descent.

SECTION 2. Amends Section 543.202(a), Transportation Code, as follows:

(a) Provides that "race or ethnicity" means the following categories:

(1) Alaska native or American Indian;

(2) Asian or Pacific Islander;

(3) black;

(4) white; and

(5) Hispanic or Latino.

Deletes existing text defining "race or ethnicity" to mean of a particular descent, including Caucasian, African, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, or Middle Eastern descent.

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2017.