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Amend CSHB 3391 (Committee Printing) by adding the following
appropriately numbered SECTION and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS
accordingly:
SECTION ____. (a) Subchapter B, Chapter 12, Parks and
Wildlife Code, is amended by adding Section 12.1045 to read as
follows:
Sec. 12.1045. PILOT PROGRAM FOR FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION.
(a) In this section:
(1) "Authorized employee" means a deputy game warden,
special game warden, or other law enforcement officer commissioned
by the director.
(2) "Pilot program" means the pilot fingerprint
identification program established under this section.
(b) The department shall develop and implement a program in
one or more counties of this state to pilot the use by authorized
employees of a mobile fingerprint identification system to perform
fingerprint checks in the field as an aid to the enforcement of this
code, any rules adopted under this code, and other laws in the
jurisdiction of the department.
(c) In implementing the pilot program, the department shall
use a mobile fingerprint scanner developed for law enforcement that
is portable, secure, and lightweight, uses encrypted data
transmissions for protection of the public, and does not require an
employee to carry any equipment other than the scanner to receive
the data.
(d) The Department of Public Safety shall work
cooperatively with the department as needed and make its existing
automated fingerprint identification system available for use by
the department during the period of the pilot program.
(e) The department shall comply with all state procurement
requirements in implementing the pilot program.
(f) The department may work with and enter into memoranda of
understanding with municipalities to implement the pilot program.
(g) Under the pilot program, an authorized employee may not
check the fingerprint of a person without the verbal consent of that
person.
(h) The department may extend the pilot program to
additional counties if the department determines that the expansion
would be cost-effective.
(b) The Parks and Wildlife Department shall begin
implementation of the pilot program established under Section
12.1045, Parks and Wildlife Code, as added by this section, not
later than January 1, 2010, and shall conduct the pilot program for
at least 12 months. Not later than February 1, 2011, the department
shall report to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker
of the house of representatives, and the Sunset Advisory Commission
regarding the pilot program. The report must include the
department's recommendations for continuation or expansion of the
pilot program and an evaluation of the department's use of the
mobile fingerprint identification system, including:
(1) the appropriateness of conducting remote
fingerprint checks;
(2) the value of remote fingerprint checking in
combating crime and enforcing department rules and other laws of
this state;
(3) the impact of using remote fingerprint checks on
the efficiency of authorized employees;
(4) the impact of using remote fingerprint checks on
the safety of authorized employees; and
(5) any reduction in inconvenience to a person who
does not have a required license.