Investigating, Prosecuting, and Penalizing Crime

Prosecution of the Offenses of Escape and Unauthorized Absence

House Bill 42 (78R) by Chisum | Pena

Sponsor - Duncan

• House Bill 42 streamlined aspects of the judicial process by amending existing law as it pertained to the prosecution of offenders who had escaped the custody of the state or a county. Existing law required such an offense to be prosecuted in the county in which it was committed; HB 42 allowed an offense of escape or unauthorized absence to be prosecuted in the county in which the offender was recaptured as well the county in which they escaped custody.

DNA Sampling of Offenders Convicted of Capital Murder

House Bill 562 (78R) by McCall | Raymond | Allen et al.

Sponsor - Duncan

• House Bill 562 closed a loophole in the Penal Code that required individuals convicted of certain offenses to have DNA samples taken, but excluded capital murder from the list of offenses. DNA sampling is an important tool that helps law enforcement agencies deal with unsolved crimes. Possessing a DNA record of those convicted of the most serious crimes often allows officers to close other cases in which the offender in question may have been involved.

Prosecution of Fraudulent Use of Identifying Information:

House Bill 254 (78R) by Kolkhorst | Rose | Pena | McCall

Sponsor - Armbrister

• House Bill 254 allowed the offense of fraudulent use of identifying information to be prosecuted in either the county where the offense occurred or the county in which the victim resides.
• House Bill 254 ensured that the prosecution of individuals who fraudulently use or possess personal identifying information can be carried out in the most effective location. The appropriate venue for prosecution of an offense could be the one where evidence is most readily available. By allowing a prosecution to be initiated in the victim's county of residence, HB 254 improved the state's ability to deal with identity theft crimes.

Prohibiting Deadly Weapons in Correctional Facilities

House Bill 864 (78R) by Kolkhorst et al.

Sponsor - Staples

• House Bill 864 criminalized the act of providing an inmate with a deadly weapon, use of a cellular phone, or money. It also prohibited the possession of a deadly weapon while in a correctional facility and established an offense for an inmate to possess a cellular phone in a correctional facility. All of the offenses created by the bill are third degree felonies.

Prosecution of Assault against Security Officers

House Bill 565 (78R) by Haggerty

Sponsor - Jackson, Mike.

• The bill established that the offense of assault is punishable as a felony of the third degree if the offense is committed against a commissioned security officer while the officer is on duty. Further, the bill established that the offense of aggravated assault committed against a commissioned security officer while the officer is on duty is punishable as a felony of the first degree.

Increased penalty for possession of false identification document

House Bill 699 (79R) by McCall

Sponsor - Carona

• House Bill 699 increased the penalty for passing, lending, or possessing a false driver's license or personal identification certificate in the Transportation Code from a Class B to a Class A misdemeanor.
• Document fraud is a large criminal industry that facilitates a great number of other crimes and criminal activity generally.
• HB 699 was an appropriate response to the growing problems created by document fraud and identity theft; ensuring that perpetrators of these crimes can be effectively dealt with by the law enforcement officials and the judicial process is a vital part of the state's response to such crimes.

Prosecution of Child Pornography:

House Bill 839 (79R) by Riddle

Sponsor - Williams

• House Bill 839 allowed for the seizure and destruction of electronic materials and computers upon final conviction in cases relating to obscene materials or child pornography.
• House Bill 839 was an important recognition that obscene materials and child pornography are frequently stored electronically, and not simply as printed images. The bill updated existing law which only allowed for printed images to be forfeited to the state and destroyed.
• House Bill 839 ensured that the state can deal effectively with the media through which obscene images are frequently stored, accessed, and transmitted.

Fraudulent electronic solicitation of personal information:

House Bill 1098 (79R) by McCall

Sponsor - Zaffirini

• House Bill 1098 established an offense of email fraud and outlawed the creation of website or domain name for fraudulent purposes.
• The bill provided protections for internet users by allowing for criminal punishment and civil injunctive relief in cases of transmission of email or solicitation of information by an institution falsely representing itself as a legitimate business. Generally known as "phishing", the act of using fraudulent tactics via the internet-such as an email or website purporting to originate from a legitimate business organization-to obtain identifying information about an individual has become commonplace. It was estimated that phishing attempts reached upwards of 56 million people in
  2004.
• The bill established a civil cause of action against an alleged perpetrator for the victim and for any legitimate company that was fraudulently represented. The bill also permitted the Attorney General to take up a civil action against a perpetrator of internet fraud and created criminal guidelines allowing for prosecution as a state jail felony, or as a third degree felony in the case of a repeat offense.

Protection of Social Security Numbers:

House Bill 1130 (79R) by Cook, B. et al.

Sponsor - Ellis

• House Bill 1130 provided protections for individuals who are required to provide their social security number in order to receive goods or services or enter into a business transaction.
• The bill required any person or organization that requests disclosure of an individual's social security number as part of a business transaction or a purchase or sale of goods to adopt and provide the individual with a copy of a privacy policy. The policy is required to establish how the personal information is collected, how it is used and protected, when it is used, who has access to it, and how the information is disposed. The bill provided the Attorney General with additional authority to prosecute violations of the provisions of the bill.
• With the undocumented population of Texas estimated to be over a million people, efforts by the state to protect personal information, such as social security numbers, are particularly important because such information can be used by undocumented immigrants to work illegally and to fraudulently claim public assistance.

Prosecution of Offenses related to Methamphetamines:

House Bill 164 (79R) by Berman | Flynn | Phillips et al.

Sponsor - Estes

• House Bill 164 increased the penalties for offenses related to Methamphetamine and permitted the Department of Family and Protective Services to take a child from any premises on which methamphetamine is manufactured.
• The bill included items that could be used for the manufacture, storage, or concealing of methamphetamine as part of the offense of possession of chemicals with the intent to use a controlled substance.
• HB 164 also permits the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to take possession of a child who is on premises that are used to manufacture methamphetamine.
• HB 164 restricted the accessibility of pseudoephedrine, which is found in common over-the-counter medications such as Sudafed and Claritin-D and is used in the manufacture of methamphetamines. The bill restricted the sale of such over-the-counter drugs to licensed pharmacies and businesses that have received appropriate certification from the Department of State Health Services.

Prosecution of Human Trafficking:

House Bill 1048 (79R) by Chisum

Sponsor - Seliger

• House Bill 1048 authorized the seizure and forfeit of vehicles used in human trafficking operations.

Punishment of Child Sex Offenders (Jessica's Law):

House Bill 8 (80R) by Riddle

Sponsor - Deuell

• Provides a minimum sentence of 25-years imprisonment for anyone who is convicted of a sexually violent offense committed against a child who is under 14 years of age.
• Establishes that a second sexually violent offense committed against a child who is under 14 years of age is a capital felony.
• The bill also requires GPS tracking of certain registered child sex offenders.