House Business & Industry met on April 20 to take up a number of bills. This report covers HB 3744 (Capriglione) and HB 3818 (Guillen). A video of the hearing that contains these bills can be found here.
This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics taken up. It is not a verbatim transcript of the discussions but is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.
Vote Out
- Turner – Yesterday, the committee voted out HB 2942 (Bernal); are re-voting to consider the CS
- CS voted out (6-2)
HB 3818 (Guillen) – Relating to payments associated with certain medical examinations under the workers’ compensation system; imposing a fee
- Guillen – Are currently 311 designated doctors, which has decreased dramatically in recent years
- Increases exam fees to account for inflation
- Reinstates the no show fee to protect the long term
- Working on a CS to add in TDI and other stakeholder’s feedback
- Fiscal note came back as there would be no fiscal effect on the state
Bobby Hillert, Texas Orthopedic Association – For
- Many doctors have left the system
- Legislation would create more incentives for orthopedic surgeons back into program
William Lawson, Self and Texas Chiropractor Association – For
- Program is not competitive enough to recruit and retain doctors
- Bill could reverse the program’s declining numbers
- Lambert – Are two main components of the bill?
- Another fee system will increase based on Medicaid rates
- Lambert – Do not have to come back every 5 years to reinstate?
- No
HB 3818 left pending
HB 3744 (Capriglione) – Relating to the prohibited use or dissemination of certain private or false information; providing a civil penalty; creating a criminal offense; increasing a criminal penalty
- Protects citizens from data crimes; internet crime growing problem
- Data crime umbrella involves doxing, swatting, catfishing, mugshot extortion
- Doxing is posting someone’s personally identifiable information publicly for malicious purposes
- Fake reports leading to swat team deployments have doubled; bill would consider Swatting a Class A misdemeanor or felony if leads to death
- Catfishing used in politics to harass opponents; bill would be awarding incendiary damages and injunctive relief if necessary
- Mugshot extortion used to threaten officials
- Bill prevents companies from charging individuals to remove mugshot photos
- Turner – The bill would not restrict public information accessibility of the mugshot, just would not allow commercial companies to harvest?
- That is right; Clerk’s office will provide information, others can publish
- Bill would make commercial entities comply when asked to remove personal information
- Crockett – Do not know how to deal with things that are technically public record; how much latitude do we really have?
- Lot of information is part of open records act or public information act; bill does not change any of that
- Focuses on the act or intent of using that information to threaten, harass, bully, extort etc.
- Lambert – Do our local law enforcement authorities get regular training on catfishing and doxing? Or do they partner up with internet criminal activity divisions?
- Trying to increase broadband, want to educate children about proper online etiquette
- A lot of these crimes are not well known or established; only talked about in severe circumstances when FBI comes in
- Beckley – Swatting more common than people understand; definitely something that needs to be taken care of
- All fun and games until someone gets hurt, lot of people think this is a prank
- Turner – Noticed a criminal justice impact statement on this, not area of expertise but would be good to engage leaders on criminal justice reform issues
HB 3744 left pendin