BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

Senate Research Center	H.B. 3130
88R24763 BEF-D	By: Guerra et al. (Zaffirini)
	Health & Human Services
	5/16/2023
	Engrossed

 

 

 

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

The Texas Council on Family Violence has suggested that the state could help reduce safety risks for survivors of family violence, sexual abuse, and trafficking by better protecting a survivor's identifying information. H.B. 3130 seeks to give survivors the ability to request occupational licensing agencies to stop providing their personal identifying information as part of public information requests.

 

H.B. 3130 amends current law relating to the protection of certain occupational licensing information regarding clients of family violence shelter centers, victims of trafficking shelter centers, and sexual assault programs and survivors of family violence, domestic violence, and sexual assault.

 

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 Section 552.138(a), Government Code, by adding Subdivision (1-a) to define "license."

 

SECTION 2. Amends Section 552.138, Government Code, by adding Subsections (f) and (g), as follows:

 

(f) Prohibits a governmental body, notwithstanding any other law, from selling or otherwise releasing the name, home or business address, place of employment, telephone number, electronic mail address, social security number, date of birth, driver's license or state identification number, passport number, emergency contact information, or numeric identifier of a person who:

 

(1) holds, previously held, or is an applicant for a license issued by the governmental body; and

 

(2) notifies the governmental body on a form provided by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) or the governmental body that the person:

 

(A) is a current or former client of a family violence shelter center, victims of trafficking shelter center, or sexual assault program or is a survivor of family violence, domestic violence, or sexual assault; and

 

(B) chooses to restrict public access to the information.

 

(g) Authorizes a governmental body to redact information described by Subsection (f) from a response to a request for a list or directory of license holders, former license holders, or license applicants without the necessity of requesting a decision from the attorney general under Subchapter G (Attorney General Decisions).

 

SECTION 3. Requires OAG, as soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act, to prepare the form described by Section 552.138(f)(2), Government Code, as added by this Act, make the form available on the attorney general's website, and notify family violence shelter centers, victims of trafficking shelter centers, and sexual assault programs of the availability and purpose of the form.

 

SECTION 4. Effective date: September 1, 2023.