HBA-CMT S.B. 479 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 479 By: West, Royce Public Safety 3/7/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, the proper law enforcement authority is required to enter information concerning the list of all previous background checks and all other pertinent information about all persons on active protective orders into the statewide law enforcement information system (statewide system). A law enforcement agency is also authorized to enter protective order information into the agency's own information system. Due to the similarity between these existing laws, a law enforcement official may enter the required information into the law enforcement agency's system but not into the statewide system and be under the impression that the mandate to enter the required information was fulfilled. Law enforcement officials do not have a required time limit to enter the information into the statewide system. Senate Bill 479 clarifies that a law enforcement agency is required to enter the information into the statewide system and requires the information to be entered in a certain time period. 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 Senate Bill 479 amends the Family Code to require the clerk of the court issuing an original or modified protective order to send information concerning the number and nature of protective orders and all other pertinent information about all persons on active protective orders to the chief of police of the appropriate municipality. The bill requires the applicant or the applicant's attorney to provide the clerk of the court with all the pertinent information concerning the number and nature of protective orders. The bill also requires a law enforcement agency immediately, but no later than the 10th day after the date a protective order is received, to enter all pertinent information concerning the number and nature of protective orders into the statewide law enforcement information system maintained by the Department of Public Safety. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.