HBA-SEB S.B. 1580 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1580
By: West, Royce
Juvenile Justice and Family Issues
4/28/1999
Engrossed



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice Security Threat Division, the
Department of Public Safety, and representatives from numerous local law
enforcement agencies have been participating in an informal task force
created to share information primarily on prison gang members released from
prison.  The task force has begun to fill a void in the need to address
gang activity from a statewide, coordinated perspective.  The task force,
however, typically meets on an average of four times per year, and has no
statutory authority, mandates, directives, or funding.  S.B. 1580
establishes the Texas Violent Gang Task Force for the purpose of forming a
strategic partnership among federal, state, and local law enforcement
agencies to better enable law enforcement agencies to take a proactive
stance toward tracking gang activity and the growth and spread of gangs
statewide.  

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 61, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding
Article 61.07, as follows: 

Art. 61.07.  TEXAS VIOLENT GANG TASK FORCE.  (a)  Defines "task force."  

(b)  Provides that the purpose of the Texas Violent Gang Task Force (task
force) is to form a strategic partnership between state, federal, and local
law enforcement agencies to better enable law enforcement agencies and
correctional agencies to take a proactive stance towards tracking gang
activity and the growth and spread of gangs statewide.   

(c)  Requires the task force to focus its efforts on developing a statewide
networking system that will provide timely access to gang information,
establishing communication and combining resources between independent
agencies, and forming a group of representatives from throughout the state
to discuss specific cases and investigations involving gangs and
gang-related activities.   

(d)  Authorizes the task force to take any other actions as necessary to
accomplish the purposes of this article.   

(e)  Requires the Department of Public Safety to support the task force to
assist in coordinating statewide antigang initiatives.   

(f)  Sets forth the composition of the task force.

SECTION 2.  Requires each entity to designate its respective representative
to the task force not later than October 1, 1999. 

SECTION 3.Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.