Relating to the monitoring of certain family violence offenders, the provision of resources for family violence victims, and the collection of information about conditions of bond imposed in family violence cases and certain other criminal cases.
relating to the monitoring of certain family violence offenders,
the provision of resources for family violence victims, and the
collection of information about conditions of bond imposed in
family violence cases and certain other criminal cases.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Sharon Radebaugh
Family Violence Protection Act.
SECTION 2. (a) The legislature finds that:
(1) family violence remains a critical issue affecting
the safety and well-being of Texas residents; and
(2) one in four women and one in seven men in this
country will experience family violence.
(b) The purpose of this Act is to:
(1) strengthen monitoring of family violence
offenders;
(2) implement monitoring through a global positioning
monitoring system for high-risk offenders;
(3) enhance victim safety; and
(4) prevent further acts of family violence.
SECTION 3. Article 17.292(c-1), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(c-1) In addition to the conditions described by Subsection
(c), the magistrate in the order for emergency protection may
impose a condition described by Article 17.49(b) in the manner
provided by that article, including ordering a defendant’s
participation in a global positioning monitoring system or allowing
participation in the system by an alleged victim or other person
protected under the order. If applicable, the magistrate shall
impose the condition described by Article 17.49(b-1).
SECTION 4. Article 17.49(a)(2), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(2) “Global positioning monitoring system” means a
system that electronically determines and reports the location of
an individual through the use of a transmitter or similar device
[carried or] worn by the individual that transmits latitude and
longitude data to a monitoring entity through global positioning
satellite technology. The term does not include a system that
contains or operates global positioning system technology, radio
frequency identification technology, or any other similar
technology that is implanted in or otherwise invades or violates
the individual’s body.
SECTION 5. Article 17.49, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsections (b), (d), (f), (h), (j), and (k) and
adding Subsections (b-1), (m), and (n) to read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), a [A] magistrate
may require as a condition of release on bond that a defendant
charged with an offense involving family violence:
(1) refrain from going to or near a residence, school,
place of employment, or other location, as specifically described
in the bond, frequented by an alleged victim of the offense;
(2) [carry or] wear a global positioning monitoring
system device and, except as provided by Subsection (h), pay a
reimbursement fee for the costs associated with operating that
system in relation to the defendant;
(3) except as provided by Subsection (h), if the
alleged victim of the offense consents after receiving the
information described by Subsection (d), pay a reimbursement fee
for the costs associated with providing the victim with an
electronic receptor device or with notification software installed
on the victim’s personal electronic device that:
(A) is capable of receiving the global
positioning monitoring system information from the device [carried
or] worn by the defendant; and
(B) contemporaneously notifies the victim if the
defendant is at or near a location that the defendant has been
ordered to refrain from going to or near under Subdivision (1); or
(4) refrain from tracking or monitoring personal
property or a motor vehicle in the possession of the alleged victim
of the offense, without the victim’s effective consent, including
by:
(A) using a tracking application on a personal
electronic device in the possession of the victim or using a
tracking device; or
(B) physically following the victim or causing
another to physically follow the victim.
(b-1) A magistrate shall require as a condition of release
on bond that a defendant wear a global positioning monitoring
system device and, except as provided by Subsection (h), pay a
reimbursement fee for the costs associated with operating that
system in relation to the defendant if the defendant poses a
continuing threat to the victim. A defendant is considered to pose
a continuing threat to the victim if the defendant has a history of:
(1) conduct violating a provision of Title 5, Penal
Code;
(2) the use of firearms outside a professional,
sporting, recreational, or hunting context;
(3) violating a previous protective order issued to
protect any person; or
(4) making threats to or against the victim.
(d) Before imposing a condition described by Subsection
(b)(3), a magistrate must provide to an alleged victim information
regarding:
(1) the victim’s right to participate in a global
positioning monitoring system or to refuse to participate in that
system and the procedure for requesting that the magistrate
terminate the victim’s participation;
(2) the manner in which the global positioning
monitoring system technology functions and the risks and
limitations of that technology, and the extent to which the system
will contemporaneously track and record the victim’s location and
movements;
(3) any locations that the defendant is ordered to
refrain from going to or near and the minimum distances, if any,
that the defendant must maintain from those locations;
(4) any sanctions that the court may impose on the
defendant for violating a condition of bond imposed under this
article and any criminal penalties for the violation;
(5) the procedure that the victim is to follow, and
support services available to assist the victim, if the defendant
violates a condition of bond or if the global positioning
monitoring system equipment or the victim’s electronic receptor
device or notification software fails;
(6) community services available to assist the victim
in obtaining shelter, counseling, education, child care, legal
representation, and other assistance available to address the
consequences of family violence; and
(7) the fact that the victim’s communications with the
court concerning the global positioning monitoring system and any
restrictions to be imposed on the defendant’s movements are not
confidential.
(f) In determining whether to order a defendant’s
participation in a global positioning monitoring system under
Subsection (b) [this article], the magistrate shall consider the
likelihood that the defendant’s participation will deter the
defendant from seeking to kill, physically injure, stalk, or
otherwise threaten the alleged victim before trial.
(h) If the magistrate determines that a defendant is
indigent, the magistrate may, based on a sliding scale established
by local rule, require the defendant to pay a reimbursement fee
under Subsection (b)(2) or (3) or (b-1) in an amount that is less
than the full amount of the costs associated with:
(1) operating the global positioning monitoring
system in relation to the defendant; or
(2) providing the victim with an electronic receptor
device or with notification software installed on the victim’s
personal electronic device, as applicable.
(j) A magistrate who [that] imposes a condition requiring
the wearing of a global positioning monitoring system device
[described by Subsection (b)(1) or (2)] shall order the entity that
operates the global positioning monitoring system to notify the
court, the Department of Public Safety, the victim, and the
appropriate local law enforcement agency if a defendant violates a
condition of bond imposed under this article. The entity must be
capable of providing an immediate, automatic electronic
notification, by text message or otherwise, on the defendant’s
violation of a condition of bond. If the defendant violates the
condition of bond by entering a prohibited location, the
notification must state with specificity the location of the
defendant.
(k) A magistrate who [that] imposes a condition described by
Subsection (b) or (b-1) may only allow or require the defendant to
execute or be released under a type of bond that is authorized by
this chapter.
(m) As soon as possible but not later than the next business
day after the date the magistrate issues an order imposing a
condition of bond involving a global positioning monitoring system,
the magistrate shall send a copy of the order to:
(1) the appropriate attorney representing the state
and either:
(A) the chief of police in the municipality where
the victim of the offense resides, if the victim resides in a
municipality; or
(B) the sheriff of the county where the victim
resides, if the victim does not reside in a municipality; and
(2) the victim at the victim’s last known address.
(n) On receipt of the order under Subsection (m), the local
law enforcement agency shall immediately, but not later than the
third business day after the date the order is received, enter the
information required by Section 411.042(b)(7), Government Code,
into the statewide law enforcement information system maintained by
the Department of Public Safety.
SECTION 6. Section 85.022, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (b-1), (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j) and amending
Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(b-1) For purposes of Subsection (b)(6), “firearm” has the
meaning assigned by Section 46.01, Penal Code.
(e) The court shall require as a condition of the protective
order that the respondent wear a device to allow monitoring by a
global positioning monitoring system, as defined by Article 17.49,
Code of Criminal Procedure, and, except as provided by Subsection
(h), pay a reimbursement fee for the costs associated with
operating that system in relation to the respondent if the
respondent poses a continuing threat to a person protected by the
order. A respondent is considered to pose a continuing threat to a
person protected by the order if:
(1) the respondent has a history of:
(A) conduct violating a provision of Title 5,
Penal Code;
(B) the use of firearms outside a professional,
sporting, recreational, or hunting context;
(C) violating a previous protective order issued
to protect any person; or
(D) making threats to or against a person
protected by the order; or
(2) in the five-year period preceding the date of the
order, the respondent was convicted of an offense for which an
affirmative finding was made under Article 42.013, Code of Criminal
Procedure [In this section, “firearm” has the meaning assigned by
Section 46.01, Penal Code].
(f) Except as provided by Subsection (h), and if the person
protected by the order consents after receiving the information
described by Subsection (g), the court may order the respondent to
pay a reimbursement fee for the costs associated with providing the
person protected by the order with an electronic receptor device or
with notification software installed on the person’s personal
electronic device that:
(1) is capable of receiving the global positioning
monitoring system information from the device worn by the
respondent; and
(2) contemporaneously notifies the person if the
respondent is at or near a location that the respondent has been
ordered to refrain from going to or near under Subsection (b)(3) or
(4).
(g) Before imposing a condition described by Subsection
(f), the court must provide to the person protected by the order
information regarding:
(1) the person’s right to participate in a global
positioning monitoring system or to refuse to participate in that
system and the procedure for requesting that the court terminate
the person’s participation;
(2) the manner in which the global positioning
monitoring system technology functions, and the risks and
limitations of that technology, and the extent to which the system
will track and record the person’s location and movements;
(3) any locations that the respondent is ordered to
refrain from going to or near and the minimum distances, if any,
that the respondent must maintain from those locations;
(4) any sanctions that the court may impose on the
respondent for violating a protective order issued under this
section and any criminal penalties for the violation;
(5) the procedure that the person protected by the
order is to follow, and support services available to assist the
person, if the respondent violates a condition of bond or if the
global positioning monitoring system equipment or the person’s
electronic receptor device or notification software fails;
(6) community services available to assist the person
in obtaining shelter, counseling, education, child care, legal
representation, and other assistance available to address the
consequences of family violence; and
(7) the fact that the person’s communications with the
court concerning the global positioning monitoring system and any
restrictions to be imposed on the respondent’s movements are not
confidential.
(h) If the court finds that the respondent is indigent, the
court may, based on a sliding scale established by local rule,
require the respondent to pay a reimbursement fee in an amount that
is less than the full amount of the costs associated with:
(1) operating the global positioning monitoring
system in relation to the respondent; or
(2) providing the person protected by the order with
an electronic receptor device or with notification software
installed on the person’s personal electronic device, as
applicable.
(i) If an indigent respondent pays to an entity that
operates a global positioning monitoring system the partial amount
ordered by the court under Subsection (h), the entity shall accept
the partial amount as payment in full. The county in which the
court that enters an order under Subsection (h) is located is not
responsible for payment of any costs associated with operating the
global positioning monitoring system in relation to an indigent
respondent.
(j) A court that imposes a condition requiring the wearing
of a global positioning monitoring system device shall order the
entity that operates the global positioning monitoring system to
notify the court, the Department of Public Safety, the victim, and
the appropriate local law enforcement agency if a respondent
violates a condition of a protective order issued under this
section. The entity must be capable of providing an immediate,
automatic electronic notification, by text message or otherwise, on
the respondent’s violation of a condition of the protective order.
If the respondent violates the protective order by entering a
prohibited location, the notification must state with specificity
the location of the respondent.
SECTION 7. Subtitle C, Title 4, Family Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 94 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 94. VICTIM SERVICES
Sec. 94.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) “Department” means the Department of Public
Safety.
(2) “Family violence” has the meaning assigned by
Section 71.004.
(3) “Family violence center” has the meaning assigned
by Section 51.002, Human Resources Code.
(4) “Victim of family violence” has the meaning
assigned by Section 51.002, Human Resources Code.
Sec. 94.002. VICTIM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. (a) The
department, in consultation or in conjunction with other
appropriate state agencies, shall administer a victim assistance
program to:
(1) provide resources to victims of family violence to
assist in accessing necessary services; and
(2) facilitate direct communications among victims of
family violence, victim service providers, family violence
centers, and law enforcement.
(b) The department shall create and administer a searchable
database of assistance programs for victims of family violence that
may be used to connect victims with necessary services.
SECTION 8. Section 411.042, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (k) to read as
follows:
(b) The bureau of identification and records shall:
(1) procure and file for record photographs, pictures,
descriptions, fingerprints, measurements, and other pertinent
information of all persons arrested for or charged with a criminal
offense or convicted of a criminal offense, regardless of whether
the conviction is probated;
(2) collect information concerning the number and
nature of offenses reported or known to have been committed in the
state and the legal steps taken in connection with the offenses, and
other information useful in the study of crime and the
administration of justice, including information that enables the
bureau to create a statistical breakdown of:
(A) offenses in which family violence was
involved;
(B) offenses under Sections 22.011 and 22.021,
Penal Code; and
(C) offenses under Sections 20A.02, 43.02,
43.021, 43.03, 43.031, 43.04, 43.041, and 43.05, Penal Code;
(3) make ballistic tests of bullets and firearms and
chemical analyses of bloodstains, cloth, materials, and other
substances for law enforcement officers of the state;
(4) cooperate with identification and crime records
bureaus in other states and the United States Department of
Justice;
(5) maintain a list of all previous background checks
for applicants for any position regulated under Chapter 1702,
Occupations Code, who have undergone a criminal history background
check as required by that chapter, if the check indicates a Class B
misdemeanor or equivalent offense or a greater offense;
(6) collect information concerning the number and
nature of protective orders and magistrate’s orders for [of]
emergency protection and all other pertinent information about all
persons subject to active orders, including, for each [pertinent
information about persons subject to conditions of bond imposed for
the protection of the victim in any family violence, sexual assault
or abuse, indecent assault, stalking, or trafficking case.
Information in the law enforcement information system relating to
an] active order [shall include]:
(A) the name, sex, race, date of birth, personal
descriptors, address, and county of residence of the person to whom
the order is directed;
(B) any known identifying number of the person to
whom the order is directed, including the person’s social security
number or driver’s license number;
(C) the name and county of residence of the
person protected by the order;
(D) the residence address and place of employment
or business of the person protected by the order;
(E) the child-care facility or school where a
child protected by the order normally resides or which the child
normally attends;
(F) the relationship or former relationship
between the person who is protected by the order and the person to
whom the order is directed;
(G) the conditions of bond imposed on the person
to whom the order is directed, if any, for the protection of a
victim in any family violence, sexual assault or abuse, indecent
assault, stalking, or trafficking case;
(H) any minimum distance the person subject to
the order is required to maintain from the protected places or
persons;
(I) whether a global positioning monitoring
system device is required for the person to whom the order is
directed and, if applicable, the method by which the person
protected by the order receives contemporaneous notifications of
any violations; and
(J) [(I)] the date the order expires;
(7) collect information about defendants subject to
active conditions of bond imposed for the protection of the victim
in any family violence, sexual assault or abuse, indecent assault,
stalking, or trafficking case, including, for each defendant:
(A) the name, sex, race, date of birth, personal
descriptors, address, and county of residence of the defendant;
(B) any known identifying number of the
defendant, including the defendant’s social security number or
driver’s license number;
(C) the name and county of residence of the
victim of the offense;
(D) any locations that the defendant must refrain
from going to or near under the conditions of bond;
(E) whether a global positioning monitoring
system device is required for the defendant and, if applicable, the
method by which the victim receives contemporaneous notifications
of any violations; and
(F) any other conditions of bond imposed;
(8) grant access to criminal history record
information in the manner authorized under Subchapter F;
(9) [(8)] collect and disseminate information
regarding offenders with mental impairments in compliance with
Chapter 614, Health and Safety Code; and
(10) [(9)] record data and maintain a state database
for a computerized criminal history record system and computerized
juvenile justice information system that serves:
(A) as the record creation point for criminal
history record information and juvenile justice information
maintained by the state; and
(B) as the control terminal for the entry of
records, in accordance with federal law and regulations, federal
executive orders, and federal policy, into the federal database
maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(k) Based on data collected under Subsections (b)(6) and
(7), the department shall submit an annual report to the
legislature on the effectiveness of using a global positioning
monitoring system to reduce repeat offenses.
SECTION 9. Section 411.0845(i), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(i) The release under this section of any criminal history
record information maintained by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, including the computerized information submitted to
the federal database maintained by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation as described by Section 411.042(b)(10)(B)
[411.042(b)(9)(B)], is subject to federal law and regulations,
federal executive orders, and federal policy.
SECTION 10. Section 772.0077(b), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The criminal justice division shall establish and
administer a grant program to reimburse counties for all or part of
the costs incurred by counties as a result of monitoring in cases
involving family violence defendants and victims who participate in
a global positioning monitoring system under Article 17.292 or
17.49, Code of Criminal Procedure, or persons who participate in a
global positioning monitoring system as a condition of a protective
order issued under Title 4, Family Code. A grant recipient may use
funds from a grant awarded under the program only for monitoring
conducted for the purpose of restoring a measure of security and
safety for a victim of family violence.
SECTION 11. Section 38.112(a), Penal Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A person who is required to submit to electronic
monitoring of the person’s location as a condition of a magistrate’s
order for emergency protection under Article 17.292, Code of
Criminal Procedure, or a protective order under Section 85.022,
Family Code, as part of an electronic monitoring program under
Article 42.035, Code of Criminal Procedure, or as a condition of
community supervision, parole, mandatory supervision, or release
on bail commits an offense if the person knowingly removes or
disables, or causes or conspires or cooperates with another person
to remove or disable, a tracking device that the person is required
to wear to enable the electronic monitoring of the person’s
location.
SECTION 12. The changes in law made by this Act to Articles
17.292 and 17.49, Code of Criminal Procedure, apply only to a person
who is arrested on or after the effective date of this Act. A person
arrested before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect on the date the person was arrested, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 13. The changes in law made by this Act to Section
85.022, Family Code, and Section 772.0077(b), Government Code,
apply only to costs incurred by counties as a result of monitoring
that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. Costs
incurred by counties as a result of monitoring that occurs before
the effective date of this Act are governed by the law in effect on
the date the costs were incurred, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 14. The Department of Public Safety of the State of
Texas is not required to submit the initial report described by
Section 411.042(k), Government Code, as added by this Act, before
December 1, 2026.
SECTION 15. The change in law made by this Act to Section
38.112, 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 section, an offense
was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element
of the offense occurred before that date.
SECTION 16. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
