BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 843

By: Perry

Criminal Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties assert that the sensitive information of crime victims participating in the crime victims' compensation program should be better protected. S.B. 843 seeks to prevent certain personal information provided by program participants from being shared with offenders and third parties by prohibiting the release or disclosure of the information, except in limited circumstances.

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

S.B. 843 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to exempt an application for compensation under the Crime Victims' Compensation Act and any information, document, summary, or other record provided to or received, maintained, or created by the attorney general under the act from disclosure under state public information law, with a certain statutory exception, and from disclosure, discovery, subpoena, or other means of legal compulsion for release. The bill prohibits the attorney general from releasing or disclosing such an application or any such information, document, summary, or other record, except under certain conditions as specified by the bill. The bill requires the attorney general, if responding to a subpoena that is issued in a criminal proceeding and that requests an application for such compensation, to release only the victim's completed application form after redacting certain confidential information and establishes that such release of a victim's completed application form does not affect the authority of the court to order the release or disclosure of additional information. The bill's provisions do not apply to information made confidential by law.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2017.