HBA-DMD H.B. 3196 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3196 By: Reyna, Arthur Public Safety 4/15/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Since adoption of the Brady Bill, background checks are performed for persons who purchase firearms. These background checks now look for dispositions as well as arrest records. Initially, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) received this information through the Department of Public Safety (department), however, currently the department has directed the FBI to contact counties in order to research the disposition records of persons. This can prove to be a cumbersome process for the FBI, since there are 254 counties in Texas, and costly for the counties. Under current law, the clerk of the court is required to report all dispositions to the department. H.B. 3196 requires the department, upon request from a county, state or federal agency that requires criminal history information, to provide the requested information, from the criminal justice information system. This bill also prohibits the department from charging a county, state or federal agency a fee for providing the information. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 60.08, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding Subsection (f), to require the Department of Public Safety (department), upon request from a county, state or federal agency that requires criminal history information, to provide the requested information, from the criminal justice information system. Prohibits the department from charging a county, state or federal agency a fee for providing the information. SECTION 2.Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3.Emergency clause.