H.B. No. 3316
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the Texas Crime Stoppers Council.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 414.001, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subdivision (2) and adding Subdivisions (3) and (4) to
  read as follows:
               (2)  "Crime stoppers organization" means:
                     (A)  a private, nonprofit organization that is
  operated on a local or statewide level, that accepts [and expends]
  donations and expends funds for rewards to persons who submit tips
  under Section 414.0015(a), [report to the organization information
  about criminal activity] and that forwards the information received
  from tips to the appropriate law enforcement agency, school
  district, or open-enrollment charter school as provided by Section
  414.0015(b); or
                     (B)  a public organization that is operated on a
  local or statewide level, that pays rewards to persons who submit
  tips under Section 414.0015(a) [report to the organization
  information about criminal activity], and that forwards the
  information received from tips to the appropriate law enforcement
  agency, school district, or open-enrollment charter school as
  provided by Section 414.0015(b).
               (3)  "Open-enrollment charter school" means a school
  that has been granted a charter under Subchapter D, Chapter 12,
  Education Code.
               (4)  "School district" means a public school district
  created under the laws of this state.
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 414, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Section 414.0015 to read as follows:
         Sec. 414.0015.  CRIME STOPPERS TIPS. (a) The council, a
  crime stoppers organization, or a person accepting information on
  behalf of the council or a crime stoppers organization may accept
  tips submitted by any person regarding:
               (1)  criminal activity;
               (2)  conduct or threatened conduct that constitutes a
  danger to public safety or an individual; or
               (3)  conduct or threatened conduct that would disrupt
  the efficient and effective operations of a school district or
  open-enrollment charter school.
         (b)  A crime stoppers organization may forward a tip
  submitted under Subsection (a) to the appropriate law enforcement
  agency, school district, or open-enrollment charter school, except
  that a tip regarding conduct or threatened conduct described only
  by Subsection (a)(3) may be forwarded only to the appropriate
  school district or open-enrollment charter school.
         SECTION 3.  Section 414.002, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (b), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (e) to
  read as follows:
         (b)  The council consists of five voting members appointed by
  the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. At least
  three members must be:
               (1)  a current or former official or employee of a
  school district or open-enrollment charter school; or
               (2)  a person [persons] who has [have] participated in
  a crime stoppers organization in any of the following capacities:
                     (A) [(1)]  as a law enforcement coordinator;
                     (B) [(2)]  as a member of the board of directors;
                     (C) [(3)]  as a media representative; or
                     (D) [(4)]  as an administrative officer.
         (c)  The term of office of a voting member is four years.
         (d)  At its first meeting after the beginning of each fiscal
  year the council shall elect from among its voting members a
  chairman and other officers that the council considers necessary.
         (e)  In addition to the voting members appointed under
  Subsection (b), the council may annually appoint a current student
  of a public school in this state who participates in the Texas Crime
  Stoppers Ambassador Program as a nonvoting student advisor to the
  council.
         SECTION 4.  Section 414.003, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 414.003.  PER DIEM AND EXPENSES. A voting member of the
  council is entitled to:
               (1)  a per diem as determined by appropriation; and
               (2)  reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses
  incurred in performing duties as a member.
         SECTION 5.  Section 414.005, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 414.005.  DUTIES.  The council shall:
               (1)  encourage, advise, and assist in the creation of
  crime stoppers organizations;
               (2)  foster the detection of crime and encourage
  persons to submit tips under Section 414.0015(a) [report
  information about criminal acts];
               (3)  encourage news and other media to [broadcast
  reenactments and to] inform the public of the functions of crime
  stoppers organizations' operations and programs;
               (4)  promote the process of crime stoppers
  organizations to forward information from tips submitted under
  Section 414.0015(a) [about criminal acts] to the appropriate law
  enforcement agencies, school districts, and open-enrollment
  charter schools;
               (5)  help law enforcement agencies detect and combat
  crime by increasing the flow of information to and between law
  enforcement agencies;
               (6)  create specialized programs targeted at detecting
  specific crimes or types of crimes identified as priorities by the
  council, including at least one program that:
                     (A)  encourages individuals to submit tips
  regarding [report] sex offenders who have failed to register under
  Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure;
                     (B)  encourages individuals to submit tips
  regarding [report] criminal activity relating to the trafficking of
  persons, as described under Chapter 20A, Penal Code; and
                     (C)  financially rewards each individual who
  submits a tip [makes a report] described by Paragraph (A) or (B)
  that leads or substantially contributes to the arrest or
  apprehension:
                           (i)  of a sex offender who has failed to
  register under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure; or
                           (ii)  of a person suspected of engaging in
  conduct that constitutes an offense under Chapter 20A, Penal Code;
  [and]
               (7)  encourage, advise, and assist crime stoppers
  organizations in implementing any programs created under
  Subdivision (6), including a program specifically described by
  Subdivision (6); and
               (8)  encourage, advise, and assist in the creation of
  campus-based crime stoppers organizations to increase the
  detection of criminal activity and other conduct or threatened
  conduct that may be submitted to a crime stoppers organization
  under Section 414.0015(a).
         SECTION 6.  Section 414.007, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 414.007.  CONFIDENTIALITY OF CRIME STOPPERS [COUNCIL]
  RECORDS. A record relating to a tip received under Section
  414.0015(a) maintained by the council, a crime stoppers
  organization, a law enforcement agency, a school district, or an
  open-enrollment charter school, including the identity of the
  person who submitted the tip, is [Council records relating to
  reports of criminal acts are] confidential and is not subject to
  disclosure under Chapter 552.
         SECTION 7.  Sections 414.008(a), (b), and (e), Government
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as otherwise provided by this section, evidence
  relating to [of] a communication between a person submitting a tip
  under Section 414.0015(a) [report of a criminal act to the council
  or a crime stoppers organization] and a [the] person who accepted
  the tip under that subsection [report on behalf of the council or
  organization] is not admissible in a court or an administrative
  proceeding and may not be considered in a hearing regarding the
  expulsion of a student under Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education
  Code, or any other student disciplinary proceeding.
         (b)  A record [Records] of the council, [or] a crime stoppers
  organization, a law enforcement agency, a school district, or an
  open-enrollment charter school concerning a tip submitted under
  Section 414.0015(a) [report of criminal activity] may not be
  compelled to be produced before a court or other tribunal except on
  a motion:
               (1)  filed in a criminal trial court by a defendant who
  alleges that the record [records or report] contains evidence that
  is exculpatory to the defendant in the trial of that offense; or
               (2)  filed in a civil case by a plaintiff who alleges
  that denial of access to the record [the records] concerning the tip 
  [report of criminal activity] abrogates any part of a cognizable
  common law cause of action, if the plaintiff alleging abrogation:
                     (A)  was charged with or convicted of a criminal
  offense based at least partially on the tip [report] and the charges
  were dismissed, the plaintiff was acquitted, or the conviction was
  overturned, as applicable; and
                     (B)  in the motion establishes a prima facie case
  that the plaintiff's abrogated claim is based on injuries from the
  criminal charge or conviction caused by the wrongful acts of
  another performed in connection with the tip [report].
         (e)  The court shall return to the council, [or] crime
  stoppers organization, law enforcement agency, school district, or
  open-enrollment charter school the materials that are produced
  under this section but not disclosed to the movant. The council,
  [or] crime stoppers organization, law enforcement agency, school
  district, or open-enrollment charter school shall store the
  materials at least until the first anniversary of the following
  appropriate date:
               (1)  the date of expiration of the time for all direct
  appeals in a criminal case; or
               (2)  the date a plaintiff's right to appeal in a civil
  case is exhausted.
         SECTION 8.  Section 414.009(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  A person who is a member or employee of the council, a
  crime stoppers organization, a law enforcement agency, a school
  district, or an open-enrollment charter school or who accepts a tip
  under Section 414.0015(a) [report of criminal activity] on behalf
  of the council or a crime stoppers organization commits an offense
  if the person intentionally or knowingly discloses [divulges] to a
  person not a member of or employed by the council, a crime stoppers
  organization, a law enforcement agency, a school district, or an
  open-enrollment charter school the [content of a report of a
  criminal act or the] identity of a [the] person who submitted a tip
  or the content of that tip [made the report] without the person's 
  consent, unless:
               (1)  the person disclosing the information has received
  authorization to disclose the information from the chief executive
  of the crime stoppers organization that originally received the
  tip, and the chief executive has reasonably determined that failing
  to disclose the identity of a person who submitted the tip creates a
  probability of imminent physical injury to another; or
               (2)  the disclosure is otherwise required by law or
  court order [of the person who made the report].
         SECTION 9.  Sections 414.010(a) and (d), Government Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (d), a crime stoppers
  organization certified by the council to receive money in the form
  of payments from defendants placed on community supervision under
  Chapter 42A, Code of Criminal Procedure, or money in the form of
  repayments of rewards under Articles 37.073 and 42.152, Code of
  Criminal Procedure, may transfer [use] not more than 20 percent of
  the money [annually] received during each calendar year to accounts
  used solely to pay costs incurred in administering the organization
  and shall use the remainder of the money, including any interest
  earned on the money, only for the payment of rewards to [reward]
  persons who submit tips under Section 414.0015(a) [report
  information concerning criminal activity]. Not later than January
  31 of each year, a crime stoppers organization that receives or
  expends money under this section shall file a detailed report with
  the council.
         (d)  A [If the amount of funds received by a] crime stoppers
  organization under this section [exceeds three times the amount of
  funds that the organization uses to pay rewards during a fiscal year
  based on the average amount of funds used to pay rewards during each
  of the preceding three fiscal years, the organization] may deposit
  excess funds, in an amount established by council rule, [the excess
  amount of funds] in [a] separate accounts [interest-bearing
  account] to be used by the organization solely for law enforcement
  or public safety purposes relating to crime stoppers or juvenile
  justice, as established by council rule [including intervention,
  apprehension, and adjudication]. An organization that deposits
  excess funds in an account as provided by this subsection may use
  any interest earned on the funds to pay costs incurred in
  administering the organization.
         SECTION 10.  Section 414.012, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 414.012.  STATEWIDE CRIME REPORTING SYSTEMS. The
  council shall establish a free statewide telephone service and
  other appropriate systems to allow tips under Section 414.0015(a)
  [information about criminal acts] to be submitted [reported] to the
  council and shall make the telephone service and other reporting
  systems accessible at all times to persons residing in areas of the
  state not served by a crime stoppers organization. The council
  shall forward any [the] information it receives [received] to
  appropriate crime stoppers organizations, law enforcement
  agencies, school districts, or open-enrollment charter schools
  [crime stoppers organization].
         SECTION 11.  Section 414.013, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 414.013.  IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL LIABILITY. (a) A person
  who submits [communicates] to the council or a crime stoppers
  organization a tip under Section 414.0015(a) [report of criminal
  activity that leads to the arrest of, the filing of charges against,
  or the conviction of a person for a criminal offense] is immune from
  civil liability for damages resulting from the submission
  [communication] unless the submission [communication] was:
               (1)  intentionally, wilfully, or wantonly negligent or
  false;
               (2)  made [or done] with conscious indifference or
  reckless disregard for the safety of others; or
               (3)  made to further the commission of a criminal act.
         (b)  A person who in the course and scope of the person's
  duties or functions receives, forwards, or acts on a tip submitted
  under Section 414.0015(a) [report of criminal activity
  communicated to the council or a crime stoppers organization] is
  immune from civil liability for damages resulting from an act or
  omission in the performance of the person's duties or functions
  unless the act or omission was:
               (1)  intentional or[,] wilfully or wantonly negligent; 
  [, or]
               (2)  done with conscious indifference or reckless
  disregard for the safety of others; or
               (3)  done to further the commission of a criminal act.
         SECTION 12.  Section 351.901(a), Local Government Code, is
  amended by amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (3) and
  (4) to read as follows:
               (1)  "Crime stoppers organization" means a private,
  nonprofit organization or a public organization that:
                     (A)  is operated on a local or statewide level;
                     (B)  accepts [and expends] donations and expends
  funds for rewards to persons who submit tips under Section
  414.0015(a), Government Code [report to the organization
  information about criminal activity]; and
                     (C)  forwards the information received from tips
  to the appropriate law enforcement agency, school district, or
  open-enrollment charter school as provided by Section 414.0015(b),
  Government Code.
               (3)  "Open-enrollment charter school" means a school
  that has been granted a charter under Subchapter D, Chapter 12,
  Education Code.
               (4)  "School district" means a public school district
  created under the laws of this state.
         SECTION 13.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3316 was passed by the House on May
  10, 2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 131, Nays 10, 2 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 3316 on May 24, 2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 124, Nays 17,
  2 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3316 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 22, 2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
  0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor