H.B. No. 3324

	AN ACT
	relating to the operations and monitoring of fusion centers in this
	state.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 421.001, Government Code, is amended by
	adding Subdivisions (2-a), (4), and (5) to read as follows:
	(2-a)  "Fusion center" means a state or regional
	multidisciplinary collaborative effort of two or more agencies that
	combine resources, expertise, and intelligence and other
	information with the goal of maximizing the ability of those
	agencies to detect, prevent, and respond to criminal activities or
	to otherwise engage in homeland security activities.
	(4)  "Intelligence" means the product of systematic
	gathering, evaluation, and synthesis of raw data on individuals or
	activities suspected of being, or known to be, criminal in nature.
	(5)  "Recognized fusion center" means a fusion center
	operating in this state that has been recognized by the director of
	Texas Homeland Security as meeting the fusion center mission
	identified in the governor's homeland security strategy and in the
	Department of Homeland Security State, Local, and Regional Fusion
	Center Initiative established under 6 U.S.C. Section 124h.
	SECTION 2.  Section 421.002(b), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(b)  The governor's homeland security strategy shall
	coordinate homeland security activities among and between local,
	state, and federal agencies and the private sector and must include
	specific plans for:
	(1)  intelligence gathering and analysis;
	(2)  information sharing;
	(3)  reducing the state's vulnerability to homeland
	security emergencies;
	(4)  protecting critical infrastructure;
	(5)  protecting the state's international border,
	ports, and airports;
	(6)  detecting, deterring, and defending against
	terrorism, including cyber-terrorism and biological, chemical, and
	nuclear terrorism;
	(7)  positioning equipment, technology, and personnel
	to improve the state's ability to respond to a homeland security
	emergency;
	(8)  directing the Texas Fusion [Infrastructure
	Protection Communications] Center and giving the center certain
	forms of authority to implement the governor's homeland security
	strategy; and
	(9)  using technological resources to:
	(A)  facilitate the interoperability of
	government technological resources, including data, networks, and
	applications;
	(B)  coordinate the warning and alert systems of
	state and local agencies;
	(C)  incorporate multidisciplinary approaches to
	homeland security; and
	(D)  improve the security of governmental and
	private sector information technology and information resources.
	SECTION 3.  Section 421.071, Government Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 421.071.  COOPERATION AND ASSISTANCE. A state or local
	agency that performs a homeland security activity or a
	nongovernmental entity that contracts with a state or local agency
	to perform a homeland security activity shall cooperate with and
	assist the office of the governor, the Homeland Security Council,
	the Texas Fusion [Infrastructure Protection Communications]
	Center, and the National Infrastructure Protection Center in the
	performance of their duties under this chapter and other state or
	federal law.
	SECTION 4.  The heading to Subchapter E, Chapter 421,
	Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER E.  TEXAS FUSION CENTER AND OTHER FUSION CENTERS
	OPERATING IN THIS STATE
	SECTION 5.  Sections 421.082(a) and (b), Government Code,
	are amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The Texas Fusion Center [center] shall serve as the
	state's primary entity for the planning, coordination, and
	integration of government communications capabilities to help
	implement the governor's homeland security strategy and ensure an
	effective response in the event of a homeland security emergency.
	(b)  The center's duties include:
	(1)  promotion of emergency preparedness;
	(2)  receipt and analysis of information, assessment of
	threats, and issuance of public warnings related to homeland
	security emergencies; [and]
	(3)  authorization and facilitation of cooperative
	efforts related to emergency response and recovery efforts in the
	event of a homeland security emergency; and
	(4)  making recommendations to the Department of Public
	Safety regarding the monitoring of fusion centers operating in this
	state and regarding the functions of the Texas Fusion Center Policy
	Council created under Section 421.083.
	SECTION 6.  Subchapter E, Chapter 421, Government Code, is
	amended by adding Sections 421.083, 421.084, 421.085, and 421.086
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 421.083.  TEXAS FUSION CENTER POLICY COUNCIL.  (a)  The
	Department of Public Safety shall create the Texas Fusion Center
	Policy Council and the bylaws for the council to assist the
	department in monitoring fusion center activities in this state.
	(b)  The policy council is composed of one executive
	representative from each recognized fusion center operating in this
	state.
	(c)  The policy council shall:
	(1)  develop and disseminate strategies to:
	(A)  facilitate the implementation of applicable
	federal standards and programs on a statewide basis by each fusion
	center operating in this state;
	(B)  expand and enhance the statewide
	intelligence capacity to reduce the threat of terrorism and
	criminal enterprises; and
	(C)  continuously review critical issues
	pertaining to homeland security activities;
	(2)  establish a privacy advisory group, with at least
	one member who is a privacy advocate, to advise the policy council
	and to meet at the direction of the policy council; and
	(3)  recommend best practices for each fusion center
	operating in this state, including:
	(A)  best practices to ensure that the center
	adheres to 28 C.F.R. Part 23 and any other federal or state law
	designed to protect privacy and the other legal rights of
	individuals; and
	(B)  best practices for the smooth exchange of
	information among all fusion centers operating in this state.
	Sec. 421.084.  FUSION CENTERS OPERATING IN THIS STATE:
	RULES AND MONITORING.  (a)  After considering the recommendations
	of the Texas Fusion Center under Section 421.082(b)(4) and the
	Texas Fusion Center Policy Council under Section 421.083(c)(3), the
	Department of Public Safety shall adopt rules to govern the
	operations of fusion centers in this state, including guidelines
	to:
	(1)  for any fusion center operating in this state,
	establish a common concept of operations to provide clear baseline
	standards for each aspect of the center's activities;
	(2)  inform and define the monitoring of those
	activities by the Texas Fusion Center Policy Council; and
	(3)  ensure that any fusion center operating in this
	state adheres to federal and state laws designed to protect privacy
	and the other legal rights of individuals, including 28 C.F.R. Part
	23 and any other law that provides clear standards for the treatment
	of intelligence or for the collection and storage of noncriminal
	information, personally identifiable information, or protected
	health information.
	(b)  The Department of Public Safety may require that a
	fusion center audited under applicable department rules pay any
	costs incurred by the policy council in relation to the audit.
	(c)  A member of the policy council may not receive
	compensation but is entitled to reimbursement for the member's
	travel expenses as provided by Chapter 660 and the General
	Appropriations Act.
	(d)  A fusion center may not receive state grant money if the
	center adopts a rule, order, ordinance, or policy under which the
	center fails or refuses to comply with rules adopted by the
	Department of Public Safety under Subsection (a), beginning with
	the first state fiscal year occurring after the center adopts the
	rule, order, ordinance, or policy.
	Sec. 421.085.  PRIVACY POLICY REQUIRED. (a) Each fusion
	center operating in this state shall adopt a privacy policy
	providing at a minimum that, with respect to an individual or
	organization, the fusion center:
	(1)  will not seek, collect, or retain information that
	is based solely on any of the following factors, as applicable to
	that individual or organization:
	(A)  religious, political, or social views or
	activities;
	(B)  participation in a particular organization
	or event; or
	(C)  race, ethnicity, citizenship, place of
	origin, age, disability, gender, or sexual orientation; and
	(2)  will take steps to ensure that any agency that
	submits information to the fusion center does not submit
	information based solely on a factor described by Subdivision (1).
	(b)  In a criminal investigation, a factor described by
	Subsection (a)(1) may not alone give rise to reasonable suspicion.
	However, a factor described by Subsection (a)(1) may be used in
	connection with a specific description of a suspect in the
	investigation.
	Sec. 421.086.  REPORT.  The Texas Fusion Center Policy
	Council annually shall submit to the governor and to each house of
	the legislature a report that contains, with respect to the
	preceding year:
	(1)  the council's progress in developing and
	coordinating the statewide fusion effort and intelligence network
	described by the governor's homeland security strategy;
	(2)  the progress made by fusion centers operating in
	this state in meeting the fusion center guidelines developed under
	the Department of Homeland Security State, Local, and Regional
	Fusion Center Initiative established under 6 U.S.C. Section 124h;
	and
	(3)  a summary of fusion center audits or reviews
	conducted under applicable rules adopted by the Department of
	Public Safety.
	SECTION 7.  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, 2011.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 3324 was passed by the House on May
	13, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 144, Nays 0, 1 present, not
	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
	No. 3324 on May 25, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 144, Nays 0,
	2 present, not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 3324 was passed by the Senate, with
	amendments, on May 23, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
	0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor