Bill Text: TX HB644 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Relating to the contents of a search warrant and to the offense of tampering with a governmental record consisting of a search warrant.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2015-06-17 - Effective on 9/1/15 [HB644 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-HB644-Enrolled.html

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H.B. No. 644

AN ACT
relating to the contents of a search warrant and to the offense of
tampering with a governmental record consisting of a search
warrant.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 18.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 18.04. CONTENTS OF WARRANT. A search warrant issued
under this chapter shall be sufficient if it contains the following
requisites:
(1) that it run in the name of "The State of Texas";
(2) that it identify, as near as may be, that which is
to be seized and name or describe, as near as may be, the person,
place, or thing to be searched;
(3) that it command any peace officer of the proper
county to search forthwith the person, place, or thing named; [and]
(4) that it be dated and signed by the magistrate; and
(5) that the magistrate's name appear in clearly
legible handwriting or in typewritten form with the magistrate's
signature.
SECTION 2. Article 18.021(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(c) In addition to the requirements of Subdivisions (1),
(4), and (5) [and (4)] of Article 18.04 of this code, a warrant
issued under this article shall identify, as near as may be, the
child to be located and photographed, shall name or describe, as
near as may be, the place or thing to be searched, and shall command
any peace officer of the proper county to search for and cause the
child to be photographed.
SECTION 3. Section 37.10(c)(2), Penal Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(2) An offense under this section is a felony of the
third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
governmental record was:
(A) a public school record, report, or assessment
instrument required under Chapter 39, Education Code, data reported
for a school district or open-enrollment charter school to the
Texas Education Agency through the Public Education Information
Management System (PEIMS) described by Section 42.006, Education
Code, under a law or rule requiring that reporting, or a license,
certificate, permit, seal, title, letter of patent, or similar
document issued by government, by another state, or by the United
States, unless the actor's intent is to defraud or harm another, in
which event the offense is a felony of the second degree;
(B) a written report of a medical, chemical,
toxicological, ballistic, or other expert examination or test
performed on physical evidence for the purpose of determining the
connection or relevance of the evidence to a criminal action; [or]
(C) a written report of the certification,
inspection, or maintenance record of an instrument, apparatus,
implement, machine, or other similar device used in the course of an
examination or test performed on physical evidence for the purpose
of determining the connection or relevance of the evidence to a
criminal action; or
(D) a search warrant issued by a magistrate.
SECTION 4. (a) The changes in law made by this Act in
amending Articles 18.04 and 18.021(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,
apply to a search warrant issued on or after the effective date of
this Act. A search warrant issued before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the warrant was
issued, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) The change in law made by this Act in adding Section
37.10(c)(2)(D), Penal Code, applies only to an offense committed on
or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
subsection, an offense was committed before the effective date of
this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 644 was passed by the House on May 12,
2015, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 644 was passed by the Senate on May
26, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor