BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3009

By: McLaughlin

Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that, as a result of the rise in criminal convictions of persons not lawfully present in the United States, some have suggested that policies should be implemented to preserve public safety and prevent further violent crimes from being committed in Texas. H.B. 3009 seeks to achieve these goals by requiring the Department of Public Safety to track certain information regarding persons who are unlawfully present in the United States and have been convicted of certain violent crimes on two or more occasions.

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

H.B. 3009 amends the Government Code to include the following among the information that must be contained in the computerized central database of offenders who have committed certain violent offenses maintained by the Department of Public Safety (DPS):

· information regarding persons who are unlawfully present in the United States and on two or more occasions have been convicted of an offense under state law, federal law, or the laws of a federally recognized Indian Tribe that has as an element the intentional or knowing use, attempted use, or threatened use of force or deadly force against any person; and

· to the extent the information is available to DPS, the last known location of such a person.

H.B. 3009 applies to an offense committed before, on, or after the bill's effective date. The bill requires DPS, as soon as practicable after the bill's effective date, but not later than January 1, 2026, to include in the database information regarding each person convicted of two or more offenses described by the bill's provisions that were committed before the bill's effective date but prohibits DPS from including such information in the database if on the bill's effective date DPS would be required to remove the person's name from the database in response to a petition filed by the person under applicable statutory provisions relating to the database.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.