The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice has released its interim report to the 89th Legislature. The report includes details on public testimony taken during committee hearings and written materials submitted to the Committee. See below for a spotlight on recommendations from the report.
Charge 1. Stopping Child Predators: Study how predators use deepfake technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to harm and exploit children. Monitor the implementation of House Bill 2700, 88th Legislature, relating to prosecution of certain criminal offenses prohibiting sexually explicit visual material involving children. Recommend additional legislation to protect children as technology continues to evolve.
- Modify current law to specifically NOT require law enforcement or prosecution prove the identity of an actual minor child for purposes of conduct that constitute certain CSAM offenses.
- Modify current law to resolve all conflicts in section 43.26 of the Penal Code.
- Consider legislation directly addressing technology companies and their role in preventing continued CSAM and deepfake proliferation with the goal of preventing abuse and sex trafficking, while prioritizing reporting, and action.
- Consider legislation mandating school districts to have appropriate policies and procedures in place to address victims of deepfakes and student access to technology while involved in any school activities.
- Prioritize victims’ rights with respect to all legislation and evaluate funding opportunities to continue to support victims of CSAM and deepfakes.
- Continue to monitor federal legislation and congressional action on all CSAM and deepfakes, technology guardrails and legislation designed to report, prevent, and prosecute offenders and opportunities for victim assistance.
Charge 2. Bail Reform: Examine “charitable bail organizations” that pay bail for defendants, thereby relieving them of any financial incentive to appear in court. Study the operations and funding sources of these organizations. Make recommendations to ensure accountability for “charitable bail organizations” that provide free bond for arrested individuals that reoffend while out on bond; further restrict these organizations’ ability to post bail for violent individuals; and promote transparency.
- Consider requiring additional details from charitable bond organizations, such as funding sources and more detail about the defendants who are being bonded out.
- Ensure that all charitable bail organizations follow the law.
- Consider limiting the number of bonds the charitable bail organizations can post in a year, or whether they should be limited just to misdemeanor cases.
- Adding additional serious offenses to the list of crimes where judges can deny bail in the Texas Constitution, enhancing public safety.
Charge 3. Monitor the implementation of Senate Bill 1004, relating to the criminal offense of tampering with an electronic monitoring device and to certain consequences on the conviction of that offense.
- Testimony from all witnesses report the enhanced electronic monitoring technology is effective and works well to curb violations. No further action appears to be needed at this time. The Committee will continue monitoring official statistics and reports to ensure that new problems or trends do not develop.
- Issues with the reliability of internet and monitoring devices are being addressed by parole officials. The Committee will monitor their progress and address any continuing problems.
Charge 4. Supporting Victims of Sexual Assault: Examine the collection and processing of “rape kits” by law enforcement agencies and testing laboratories. Make recommendations to ensure that forensic evidence collected from victims of sexual assault is processed in a timely manner.
- Consider allocating funding for universities to launch new training programs.
- Consider whether new funding is needed to resolve the full backlog that now exists.
- Consider how to effectively enforce current submission deadlines of sexual assault kits from local law enforcement agencies.
- Enhance training mandates for law enforcement agencies stressing the importance of timely submittal of the sexual assault kits for testing.
Charge 5. Retail Theft: Study the effects of organized retail crime in Texas and in other states. Evaluate the reporting and legislative suggestions from the Organized Retail Theft Task Force. Make recommendations to protect the safety of retail employees and business owners in Texas.
- Texas Penal Code 31.16 (the ORT statute) should be re-written and enhanced to address all forms of retail theft and ensure law enforcement, prosecutors and the judiciary have the tools needed for effective enforcement. Threshold levels for certain crimes should be lowered, and sentences enhanced for various ORT offenses. Multi-jurisdiction crimes and aggregation of offenses should also be addressed.
- Designate an ORT task force within DPS, including expansion of current regional support and resources.
- Enhanced data tracking and collection of statistics regarding ORT in Texas.
- Create an ORT grant program to further enhance law enforcement and prosecution efforts and continue funding the SB 22 grant program.
- Establish statewide ORT education programs for law enforcement, prosecutors, and the judiciary, and improve coordination between manufacturers, retailers, police, investigators, and prosecutors.
Charge 6. Financial Theft: Evaluate financial criminal activity trends in Texas, including the fiscal impact on consumers, financial institutions, local economies, and businesses. Determine the extent of payment fraud by transnational criminal gangs. Study the impact of the Financial Crimes Intelligence Center (FCIC). Make recommendations that enhance penalties for check and payment fraud and identify ways to strengthen financial crime investigations in Texas.
- Consider additional funding to the FCIC to expand personnel, equipment, facilities, and capabilities to further enhance and expand their ability to stop this criminal activity.
- Increase the penalty for tampering with a gas pump and create an offense for interfering with or manipulating a gas pump payment terminal or meter device.
- Require the FCIC to develop and implement strategies to detect a motor fuel manipulation device.
- Rewrite Texas laws governing financial crimes to enhance penalties for organized crime and recurrent theft activities over multiple jurisdictions.
- Consider legislation enhancing prevention efforts and prosecution of deed fraud and provide a clear path for deed theft victims to have fraudulent deeds voided by a judge.
- Enhanced data tracking and collection of statistics regarding organized financial crimes in Texas.
- Establish statewide organized financial crimes education programs to improve coordination between law enforcement, prosecutors, and the judiciary.
- Prohibit crypto ATMs/kiosks, or, in the alternative, consider regulations that would impose daily transaction limits, and require verifiable transaction records.
- Require warning and education notices on crypto ATM/kiosks and gift card stands in retail stores.
