HBA-SEP H.B. 2044 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2044 By: Williams Criminal Jurisprudence 4/12/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, search warrants are considered public information and are open to inspection by the public. This may, on occasion, jeopardize the safety of an informant or adversely affect a continuing investigation. House Bill 2044 authorizes an attorney representing the state in the prosecution of felonies to request a judge to seal certain affidavits. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 2044 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to authorize an attorney representing the state in the prosecution of felonies to request a district or appellate court judge to seal an affidavit on which a search warrant is based. The bill authorizes the judge to order the affidavit sealed if the attorney establishes a compelling state interest in that public disclosure would jeopardize the safety of a confidential informant, adversely affect a continuing investigation, or the affidavit contains information obtained from a courtordered wiretap that has not yet expired. The bill provides that an order sealing an affidavit expires on the 31st day after the date on which the search warrant is executed. The bill authorizes an attorney to request, and a judge to grant up to two 30-day extensions of the original order after which the affidavit must be unsealed. Such an order may not prohibit the disclosure of information relating to the contents of a search warrant, the return of a search warrant, or the inventory of property taken pursuant to a search warrant, or affect the right of a defendant to discover the contents of an affidavit. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.