H.B. No. 670
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to a qualified privilege of a journalist not to testify.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 22, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
  amended by adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER C. JOURNALIST'S QUALIFIED TESTIMONIAL PRIVILEGE IN
  CIVIL PROCEEDINGS
         Sec. 22.021.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Communication service provider" means a person or
  the parent, subsidiary, division, or affiliate of a person who
  transmits information chosen by a customer by electronic means,
  including:
                     (A)  a telecommunications carrier, as defined by
  Section 3, Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. Section 153);
                     (B)  a provider of information service, as defined
  by Section 3, Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. Section 153);
                     (C)  a provider of interactive computer service,
  as defined by Section 230, Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
  Section 230); and
                     (D)  an information content provider, as defined
  by Section 230, Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. Section 230).
               (2)  "Journalist" means a person, including a parent,
  subsidiary, division, or affiliate of a person, who for a
  substantial portion of the person's livelihood or for substantial
  financial gain, gathers, compiles, prepares, collects,
  photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, investigates,
  processes, or publishes news or information that is disseminated by
  a news medium or communication service provider and includes:
                     (A)  a person who supervises or assists in
  gathering, preparing, and disseminating the news or information; or
                     (B)  notwithstanding the foregoing, a person who
  is or was a journalist, scholar, or researcher employed by an
  institution of higher education at the time the person obtained or
  prepared the requested information, or a person who at the time the
  person obtained or prepared the requested information:
                           (i)  is earning a significant portion of the
  person's livelihood by obtaining or preparing information for
  dissemination by a news medium or communication service provider;
  or
                           (ii)  was serving as an agent, assistant,
  employee, or supervisor of a news medium or communication service
  provider.
               (3)  "News medium" means a newspaper, magazine or
  periodical, book publisher, news agency, wire service, radio or
  television station or network, cable, satellite, or other
  transmission system or carrier or channel, or a channel or
  programming service for a station, network, system, or carrier, or
  an audio or audiovisual production company or Internet company or
  provider, or the parent, subsidiary, division, or affiliate of that
  entity, that disseminates news or information to the public by any
  means, including:
                     (A)  print;
                     (B)  television;
                     (C)  radio;
                     (D)  photographic;
                     (E)  mechanical;
                     (F)  electronic; and
                     (G)  other means, known or unknown, that are
  accessible to the public.
               (4)  "Official proceeding" means any type of
  administrative, executive, legislative, or judicial proceeding
  that may be conducted before a public servant, including a
  proceeding under Rule 202, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
               (5)  "Public servant" means a person elected, selected,
  appointed, employed, or otherwise designated as one of the
  following, even if the person has not yet qualified for office or
  assumed the person's duties:
                     (A)  an officer, employee, or agent of government;
                     (B)  a juror;
                     (C)  an arbitrator, referee, or other person who
  is authorized by law or private written agreement to hear or
  determine a cause or controversy;
                     (D)  an attorney or notary public when
  participating in the performance of a governmental function; or
                     (E)  a person who is performing a governmental
  function under a claim of right, although the person is not legally
  qualified to do so.
         Sec. 22.022.  PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to
  increase the free flow of information and preserve a free and active
  press and, at the same time, protect the right of the public to
  effective law enforcement and the fair administration of justice.
         Sec. 22.023.  PRIVILEGE. (a) Except as otherwise provided
  by this subchapter, a judicial, legislative, administrative, or
  other body with the authority to issue a subpoena or other
  compulsory process may not compel a journalist to testify regarding
  or to produce or disclose in an official proceeding:
               (1)  any confidential or nonconfidential information,
  document, or item obtained or prepared while acting as a
  journalist; or
               (2)  the source of any information, document, or item
  described by Subdivision (1).
         (b)  A subpoena or other compulsory process may not compel
  the parent, subsidiary, division, or affiliate of a communication
  service provider or news medium to disclose the information,
  documents, or items or the source of any information, documents, or
  items that are privileged from disclosure under Subsection (a).
         Sec. 22.024.  LIMITED DISCLOSURE GENERALLY. After notice
  and an opportunity to be heard, a court may compel a journalist, a
  journalist's employer, or a person with an independent contract
  with a journalist to testify regarding or to produce or disclose any
  information, document, or item or the source of any information,
  document, or item obtained while acting as a journalist, if the
  person seeking the information, document, or item or the source of
  any information, document, or item makes a clear and specific
  showing that:
               (1)  all reasonable efforts have been exhausted to
  obtain the information from alternative sources;
               (2)  the subpoena is not overbroad, unreasonable, or
  oppressive and, when appropriate, will be limited to the
  verification of published information and the surrounding
  circumstances relating to the accuracy of the published
  information;
               (3)  reasonable and timely notice was given of the
  demand for the information, document, or item;
               (4)  in this instance, the interest of the party
  subpoenaing the information outweighs the public interest in
  gathering and dissemination of news, including the concerns of the
  journalist;
               (5)  the subpoena or compulsory process is not being
  used to obtain peripheral, nonessential, or speculative
  information; and
               (6)  the information, document, or item is relevant and
  material to the proper administration of the official proceeding
  for which the testimony, production, or disclosure is sought and is
  essential to the maintenance of a claim or defense of the person
  seeking the testimony, production, or disclosure.
         Sec. 22.025.  NOTICE. An order to compel testimony,
  production, or disclosure to which a journalist has asserted a
  privilege under this subchapter may be issued only after timely
  notice to the journalist, the journalist's employer, or a person
  who has an independent contract with the journalist and a hearing.
  The order must include clear and specific findings as to the showing
  made by the person seeking the testimony, production, or disclosure
  and the clear and specific evidence on which the court relied in
  issuing the court's order.
         Sec. 22.026.  PUBLICATION OF PRIVILEGED INFORMATION.
  Publication or dissemination by a news medium or communication
  service provider of information, documents, or items privileged
  under this subchapter is not a waiver of the journalist's
  privilege.
         Sec. 22.027.  NEWS MEDIA RECORDINGS.  Extrinsic evidence of
  the authenticity of evidence as a condition precedent to the
  admissibility of the evidence in a civil proceeding is not required
  with respect to a recording that purports to be a broadcast by a
  radio or television station that holds a license issued by the
  Federal Communications Commission at the time of the recording.
  The court may take judicial notice of the recording license as
  provided by Rule 201, Texas Rules of Evidence.
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 38, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended by adding Articles 38.11 and 38.111 to read as follows:
         Art. 38.11.  JOURNALIST'S QUALIFIED TESTIMONIAL PRIVILEGE
  IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
         Sec. 1.  DEFINITIONS. In this article:
               (1)  "Communication service provider" means a person or
  the parent, subsidiary, division, or affiliate of a person who
  transmits information chosen by a customer by electronic means,
  including:
                     (A)  a telecommunications carrier, as defined by
  Section 3, Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. Section 153);
                     (B)  a provider of information service, as defined
  by Section 3, Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. Section 153);
                     (C)  a provider of interactive computer service,
  as defined by Section 230, Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
  Section 230); and
                     (D)  an information content provider, as defined
  by Section 230, Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. Section 230).
               (2)  "Journalist" means a person, including a parent,
  subsidiary, division, or affiliate of a person, who for a
  substantial portion of the person's livelihood or for substantial
  financial gain, gathers, compiles, prepares, collects,
  photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, investigates,
  processes, or publishes news or information that is disseminated by
  a news medium or communication service provider and includes:
                     (A)  a person who supervises or assists in
  gathering, preparing, and disseminating the news or information; or
                     (B)  notwithstanding the foregoing, a person who
  is or was a journalist, scholar, or researcher employed by an
  institution of higher education at the time the person obtained or
  prepared the requested information, or a person who at the time the
  person obtained or prepared the requested information:
                           (i)  is earning a significant portion of the
  person's livelihood by obtaining or preparing information for
  dissemination by a news medium or communication service provider;
  or
                           (ii)  was serving as an agent, assistant,
  employee, or supervisor of a news medium or communication service
  provider.
               (3)  "News medium" means a newspaper, magazine or
  periodical, book publisher, news agency, wire service, radio or
  television station or network, cable, satellite, or other
  transmission system or carrier or channel, or a channel or
  programming service for a station, network, system, or carrier, or
  an audio or audiovisual production company or Internet company or
  provider, or the parent, subsidiary, division, or affiliate of that
  entity, that disseminates news or information to the public by any
  means, including:
                     (A)  print;
                     (B)  television;
                     (C)  radio;
                     (D)  photographic;
                     (E)  mechanical;
                     (F)  electronic; and
                     (G)  other means, known or unknown, that are
  accessible to the public.
               (4)  "Official proceeding" means any type of
  administrative, executive, legislative, or judicial proceeding
  that may be conducted before a public servant.
               (5)  "Public servant" means a person elected, selected,
  appointed, employed, or otherwise designated as one of the
  following, even if the person has not yet qualified for office or
  assumed the person's duties:
                     (A)  an officer, employee, or agent of government;
                     (B)  a juror or grand juror;
                     (C)  an arbitrator, referee, or other person who
  is authorized by law or private written agreement to hear or
  determine a cause or controversy;
                     (D)  an attorney or notary public when
  participating in the performance of a governmental function; or
                     (E)  a person who is performing a governmental
  function under a claim of right, although the person is not legally
  qualified to do so.
         Sec. 2.  PURPOSE. The purpose of this article is to increase
  the free flow of information and preserve a free and active press
  and, at the same time, protect the right of the public to effective
  law enforcement and the fair administration of justice.
         Sec. 3.  PRIVILEGE. (a) Except as otherwise provided by
  this article, a judicial, legislative, administrative, or other
  body with the authority to issue a subpoena or other compulsory
  process may not compel a journalist to testify regarding or to
  produce or disclose in an official proceeding:
               (1)  any confidential or nonconfidential unpublished
  information, document, or item obtained or prepared while acting as
  a journalist; or
               (2)  the source of any information, document, or item
  described by Subdivision (1).
         (b)  A subpoena or other compulsory process may not compel
  the parent, subsidiary, division, or affiliate of a communication
  service provider or news medium to disclose the unpublished
  information, documents, or items or the source of any information,
  documents, or items that are privileged from disclosure under
  Subsection (a).
         Sec. 4.  PRIVILEGE CONCERNING CONFIDENTIAL SOURCES.  (a)  A
  journalist may be compelled to testify regarding or to disclose the
  confidential source of any information, document, or item obtained
  while acting as a journalist if the person seeking the testimony,
  production, or disclosure makes a clear and specific showing that
  the source of any information, document, or item:
               (1)  was observed by the journalist committing a felony
  criminal offense and the subpoenaing party has exhausted reasonable
  efforts to obtain from alternative sources the confidential source
  of any information, document, or item obtained or prepared while
  acting as a journalist;
               (2)  is a person who confessed or admitted to the
  journalist the commission of a felony criminal offense and the
  subpoenaing party has exhausted reasonable efforts to obtain from
  alternative sources the confidential source of any information,
  document, or item obtained or prepared while acting as a
  journalist;
               (3)  is a person for whom probable cause exists that the
  person participated in a felony criminal offense and the
  subpoenaing party has exhausted reasonable efforts to obtain from
  alternative sources the confidential source of any information,
  document, or item obtained or prepared while acting as a
  journalist; or
               (4)  disclosure of the confidential source is
  reasonably necessary to stop or prevent reasonably certain death or
  substantial bodily harm.
         (b)  If the alleged criminal conduct is the act of
  communicating, receiving, or possessing the information, document,
  or item, this section does not apply, and Section 5 governs the act.
         (c)  Notwithstanding Subsection (b), if the information,
  document, or item was disclosed or received in violation of a grand
  jury oath given to either a juror or a witness under Article 19.34
  or 20.16, a journalist may be compelled to testify if the person
  seeking the testimony, production, or disclosure makes a clear and
  specific showing that the subpoenaing party has exhausted
  reasonable efforts to obtain from alternative sources the
  confidential source of any information, document, or item obtained.
  In this context, the court has the discretion to conduct an in
  camera hearing. The court may not order the production of the
  confidential source until a ruling has been made on the motion.
         (d)  An application for a subpoena of a journalist under
  Article 24.03, or a subpoena of a journalist issued by an attorney
  representing the state under Article 20.10 or 20.11, must be signed
  by the elected district attorney, elected criminal district
  attorney, or elected county attorney, as applicable. If the
  elected district attorney, elected criminal district attorney, or
  elected county attorney has been disqualified or recused or has
  resigned, the application for the subpoena or the subpoena must be
  signed by the person succeeding the elected attorney.  If the
  elected officer is not in the jurisdiction, the highest ranking
  assistant to the elected officer must sign the subpoena.
         Sec. 5.  PRIVILEGE CONCERNING UNPUBLISHED INFORMATION,
  DOCUMENT, OR ITEM AND NONCONFIDENTIAL SOURCES.  (a)  After service
  of subpoena and an opportunity to be heard, a court may compel a
  journalist, a journalist's employer, or a person with an
  independent contract with a journalist to testify regarding or to
  produce or disclose any unpublished information, document, or item
  or the source of any information, document, or item obtained while
  acting as a journalist, other than as described by Section 4, if the
  person seeking the unpublished information, document, or item or
  the source of any information, document, or item makes a clear and
  specific showing that:
               (1)  all reasonable efforts have been exhausted to
  obtain the information from alternative sources; and
               (2)  the unpublished information, document, or item:
                     (A)  is relevant and material to the proper
  administration of the official proceeding for which the testimony,
  production, or disclosure is sought and is essential to the
  maintenance of a claim or defense of the person seeking the
  testimony, production, or disclosure; or
                     (B)  is central to the investigation or
  prosecution of a criminal case and based on something other than the
  assertion of the person requesting the subpoena, reasonable grounds
  exist to believe that a crime has occurred.
         (b)  The court, when considering an order to compel testimony
  regarding or to produce or disclose any unpublished information,
  document, or item or the source of any information, document, or
  item obtained while acting as a journalist, should consider the
  following factors, including but not limited to whether:
               (1)  the subpoena is overbroad, unreasonable, or
  oppressive;
               (2)  reasonable and timely notice was given of the
  demand for the information, document, or item;
               (3)  in this instance, the interest of the party
  subpoenaing the information outweighs the public interest in
  gathering and dissemination of news, including the concerns of the
  journalist; and
               (4)  the subpoena or compulsory process is being used
  to obtain peripheral, nonessential, or speculative information.
         (c)  A court may not consider a single factor under
  Subsection (b) as outcome-determinative in the decision whether to
  compel the testimony or the production or disclosure of the
  unpublished information, document, or item, or the source of any
  information, document, or item.
         Sec. 6.  NOTICE. An order to compel testimony, production,
  or disclosure to which a journalist has asserted a privilege under
  this article may be issued only after timely notice to the
  journalist, the journalist's employer, or a person who has an
  independent contract with the journalist and a hearing. The order
  must include clear and specific findings as to the showing made by
  the person seeking the testimony, production, or disclosure and the
  clear and specific evidence on which the court relied in issuing the
  court's order.
         Sec. 7.  PUBLICATION OF PRIVILEGED INFORMATION. Publication
  or dissemination by a news medium or communication service provider
  of information, documents, or items privileged under this article
  is not a waiver of the journalist's privilege regarding sources and
  unpublished information, documents, or items.
         Sec. 8.  PUBLISHED INFORMATION. This article does not apply
  to any information, document, or item that has at any time been
  published or broadcast by the journalist.
         Sec. 9.  REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS.  The subpoenaing party shall
  pay a journalist a reasonable fee for the journalist's time and
  costs incurred in providing the information, item, or document
  subpoenaed, based on the fee structure provided by Subchapter F,
  Chapter 552, Government Code.
         Art. 38.111.  NEWS MEDIA RECORDINGS. Extrinsic evidence of
  the authenticity of evidence as a condition precedent to the
  admissibility of the evidence in a criminal proceeding is not
  required with respect to a recording that purports to be a broadcast
  by a radio or television station that holds a license issued by the
  Federal Communications Commission at the time of the recording.
  The court may take judicial notice of the recording license as
  provided by Rule 201, Texas Rules of Evidence.
         SECTION 3.  This Act applies only to information, documents,
  or items or the source of any information, document, or item
  obtained or prepared for publication in a news medium or
  communication service provider on or after the effective date of
  this Act.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 670 was passed by the House on April
  2, 2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 146, Nays 0, 1 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 670 on April 30, 2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 146, Nays 0,
  1 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 670 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on April 28, 2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 31,
  Nays 0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor