Source: http://parentresourceguide.texaschildrenscommission.gov/library_item/gov.tx.leg.crim_proc_code/2153?print=1
Timestamp: 2020-04-06 08:11:14
Document Index: 538068279

Matched Legal Cases: ['Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63', 'Art. 63']

Art. 63.001: Definitions
Art. 63.0015: Presumption Regarding Parentage
For purposes of this chapter, a person named as a child's mother or father in the child's birth certificate is presumed to be the child's parent.
Art. 63.0016: Attempted Child Abduction By Relative
For purposes of this chapter, "attempted child abduction" does not include an attempted abduction in which the actor was a relative, as defined by Section 20.01, Penal Code, of the person intended to be abducted.
Art. 63.002: Missing Children and Missing Persons Information Clearinghouse
(a) The missing children and missing persons information clearinghouse is established within the Department of Public Safety.
Art. 63.003: Function of Clearinghouse
(a) The clearinghouse is a central repository of information on missing children, missing persons, and attempted child abductions.
Art. 63.004: Report Forms
(a) The Department of Public Safety shall distribute missing children and missing person report forms.
Art. 63.0041: Reporting of Attempted Child Abduction
(a) A local law enforcement agency, on receiving a report of an attempted child abduction, shall as soon as practicable, but not later than eight hours after receiving the report, provide any relevant information regarding the attempted child abduction to the clearinghouse. Information not immediately available shall be obtained by the agency and entered into the clearinghouse as a supplement to the original entry as soon as possible.
(b) A law enforcement officer or local law enforcement agency reporting an attempted child abduction to the clearinghouse shall make the report by use of the Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunications System or a successor system of telecommunication used by law enforcement agencies and operated by the Department of Public Safety.
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1016 (H.B. 1503), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2017.
Art. 63.005: Distribution of Information
(a) The clearinghouse shall print and distribute posters, flyers, and other forms of information containing descriptions of missing children.
Art. 63.006: Release of Dental Records
(a) At the time a report is made for a missing child, the person to whom the report is given shall give or mail to the reporter a dental record release form. The officer receiving the report shall endorse the form with the notation that a missing child report has been made in compliance with this chapter. When the form is properly completed by the reporter, and contains the endorsement, the form is sufficient to permit any dentist or physician in this state to release dental records relating to the child reported missing.
Art. 63.007: Release of Medical Records
(a) At the time a report is made for a missing child or adult, the law enforcement officer taking the report shall give a medical record release form to the parent, spouse, adult child, or legal guardian who is making the report. The officer receiving the report shall endorse the form with the notation that a missing child or missing adult report has been made in compliance with this chapter. When the form is properly completed by the parent, spouse, adult child, or legal guardian, and contains the endorsement, the form is sufficient to permit any physician, health care facility, or other licensed health care provider in this state to release to the law enforcement officer presenting the release dental records, blood type, height, weight, X rays, and information regarding scars, allergies, or any unusual illnesses suffered by the person who is reported missing. Except as provided by Subsection (d), a medical record of a missing child may be released only if the medical record release form is signed by a parent or legal guardian.
Art. 63.008: Missing Children Program
(a) The Texas Education Agency shall develop and administer a program for the location of missing children who may be enrolled within the Texas school system, including nonpublic schools, and for the reporting of children who may be missing or who may be unlawfully removed from schools.
Art. 63.009: Law Enforcement Requirements
(1) if the subject of the report is a child and the child is at a high risk of harm or is otherwise in danger or if the subject of the report is a person who is known by the agency to have or is reported to have chronic dementia, including Alzheimer's dementia, whether caused by illness, brain defect, or brain injury, immediately start an investigation in order to determine the present location of the child or person;
(a-3) Repealed by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1016 (H.B. 1503), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2017.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 745 (H.B. 1793), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2015.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1236 (S.B. 1296), Sec. 21.001(6), eff. September 1, 2015.
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1016 (H.B. 1503), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2017.
Art. 63.0091: Law Enforcement Requirements Regarding Reports of Certain Missing Children
(a) The public safety director of the Department of Public Safety shall adopt rules regarding the procedures for a local law enforcement agency on receiving a report of a missing child who:
(1) had been reported missing on four or more occasions in the 24-month period preceding the date of the current report;
(2) is in foster care or in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services and had been reported missing on two or more occasions in the 24-month period preceding the date of the current report; or
(3) is under 14 years of age and otherwise determined by the local law enforcement agency or the Department of Public Safety to be at a high risk of human trafficking, sexual assault, exploitation, abuse, or neglectful supervision.
(b) The rules adopted under this article must require that in entering information regarding the report into the national crime information center missing person file as required by Article 63.009(a)(3) for a missing child described by Subsection (a), the local law enforcement agency shall indicate, in the manner specified in the rules, that the child is at a high risk of harm and include relevant information regarding any prior occasions on which the child was reported missing.
(c) If, at the time the initial entry into the national crime information center missing person file is made, the local law enforcement agency has not determined that the requirements of this article apply to the report of the missing child, the information required by Subsection (b) must be added to the entry promptly after the agency investigating the report or the Department of Public Safety determines that the missing child is described by Subsection (a).
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 745 (H.B. 1793), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2015.
Art. 63.0092: Option to Designate Missing Child As High Risk
(a) This article applies to a report of a missing child who is at least 14 years of age and who a local law enforcement agency or the Department of Public Safety determines is at a high risk of human trafficking, sexual assault, exploitation, abuse, or neglectful supervision.
(b) In entering information regarding a report described by Subsection (a) into the national crime information center missing person file as required by Article 63.009(a)(3), the local law enforcement agency may indicate that the child is at a high risk of harm and may include any other relevant information.
Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 745 (H.B. 1793), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2015.
Art. 63.010: Attorney General to Require Compliance
The attorney general shall require each law enforcement agency to comply with this chapter and may seek writs of mandamus or other appropriate remedies to enforce this chapter.
Art. 63.011: Missing Children Investigations
On the written request made to a law enforcement agency by a parent, foster parent, managing or possessory conservator, guardian of the person or the estate, or other court-appointed custodian of a child whose whereabouts are unknown, the law enforcement agency shall request from the missing children and missing persons information clearinghouse information concerning the child that may aid the person making the request in the identification or location of the child.
Art. 63.012: Report of Inquiry
A law enforcement agency to which a request has been made under Article 63.011 of this code shall report to the parent on the results of its inquiry within 14 days after the day that the written request is filed with the law enforcement agency.
Art. 63.013: Information to Clearinghouse
Each law enforcement agency shall provide to the missing children and missing persons information clearinghouse:
Art. 63.014: Cross-Checking and Matching
(a) The clearinghouse shall cross-check and attempt to match unidentified bodies with missing children or missing persons. When the clearinghouse discovers a possible match between an unidentified body and a missing child or missing person, the Department of Public Safety shall notify the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
Art. 63.015: Availability of Information Through Other Agencies
(a) On the request of any law enforcement agency, a city or state agency shall furnish the law enforcement agency with any information about a missing child or missing person that will assist in completing the investigation.
Art. 63.016: Donations
The Department of Public Safety may accept money donated from any source to assist in financing the activities and purposes of the missing children and missing persons information clearinghouse.
Art. 63.017: Confidentiality of Certain Records
Clearinghouse records that relate to the investigation by a law enforcement agency of a missing child, a missing person, or an unidentified body and records or notations that the clearinghouse maintains for internal use in matters relating to missing children, missing persons, or unidentified bodies are confidential.
Art. 63.018: Death Certificates
A physician who performs a postmortem examination on the body of an unidentified person shall complete and file a death certificate in accordance with Chapter 193, Health and Safety Code. The physician shall note on the certificate the name of the law enforcement agency that submitted the body for examination and shall send a copy of the certificate to the clearinghouse not later than the 10th working day after the date the physician files the certificate.
Art. 63.019: School Records System
(a) On enrollment of a child under 11 years of age in a school for the first time at the school, the school shall:
Art. 63.020: Duty of Schools and Other Entities to Flag Missing Children's Records
(a) When a report that a child under 11 years of age is missing is received by a law enforcement agency, the agency shall immediately notify each school and day care facility that the child attended or in which the child was enrolled as well as the bureau of vital statistics, if the child was born in the state, that the child is missing.
Art. 63.021: System for Flagging Records
(a) On receipt of notification by a law enforcement agency or the clearinghouse regarding a missing child under 11 years of age, the school, day care facility, or birth certificate agency shall maintain the child's records in its possession so that on receipt of a request regarding the child, the school, day care facility, or agency will be able to notify law enforcement or the clearinghouse that a request for a flagged record has been made.
Art. 63.022: Removal of Flag from Records
(a) On the return of a missing child under 11 years of age, the law enforcement agency shall notify each school or day care facility that has maintained flagged records for the child and the bureau of vital statistics that the child is no longer missing. The law enforcement agency shall notify the clearinghouse that notification under this section has been made. The bureau of vital statistics shall notify the appropriate municipal or county birth certificate agency. The clearinghouse shall notify the school, day care facility, or bureau of vital statistics that the missing child is no longer missing if the clearinghouse determines that the notification was not provided by the law enforcement agency.
Art. 63.051: Definitions
Art. 63.0515: Criminal Justice Agency
For purposes of this subchapter, the center is a criminal justice agency that performs forensic DNA analyses on evidence, including evidence related to a case involving unidentified human remains or a high-risk missing person. The center shall comply with 42 U.S.C. Section 14132.
Art. 63.052: Establishment of Dna Database for Missing Or Unidentified Persons
(a) The board shall develop at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth a DNA database for any case based on the report of unidentified human remains or a report of a high-risk missing person.
Art. 63.053: Information Stored in Database
(a) The database required in Article 63.052 may contain only DNA genetic markers that are commonly recognized as appropriate for human identification. Except to the extent that those markers are appropriate for human identification, the database may not contain DNA genetic markers that predict biological function. The center shall select the DNA genetic markers for inclusion in the DNA database based on existing technology for forensic DNA analysis.
Art. 63.054: Comparison of Samples
The center shall compare DNA samples taken from unidentified human remains with DNA samples taken from personal articles belonging to high-risk missing persons or from parents of high-risk missing persons or other appropriate persons.
Art. 63.055: Standards Collection; Storage
In consultation with the center, the board by rule shall develop standards and guidelines for the collection of DNA samples submitted to the center and the center's storage of DNA samples.
Art. 63.056: Collection of Samples from Unidentified Human Remains
(a) A physician acting on the request of a justice of the peace under Subchapter A, Chapter 49, a county coroner, a county medical examiner, or other law enforcement entity, as appropriate, shall collect samples from unidentified human remains. The justice of the peace, coroner, medical examiner, or other law enforcement entity shall submit those samples to the center for forensic DNA analysis and inclusion of the results in the DNA database.
Art. 63.057: Duty of Law Enforcement Agency to Notify Appropriate Persons Regarding Provision of Voluntary Sample
Not later than the 30th day after the date a report of a high-risk missing person is filed, the law enforcement agency shall inform a parent or any other person considered appropriate by the agency that the person may provide:
Art. 63.058: Release Form
(a) The center shall develop a standard release form that authorizes a parent or other appropriate person to voluntarily provide under Article 63.057 a DNA sample or a personal article for purposes of DNA sampling. The release must explain that the DNA sample is to be used only to identify the high-risk missing person.
Art. 63.059: Protocol for Obtaining Samples Relating to High-Risk Missing Persons
(a) The law enforcement agency shall take DNA samples from parents or other appropriate persons under Article 63.057 in any manner prescribed by the center.
Art. 63.060: Submission of Sample to Center
(a) Before submitting to the center a DNA sample obtained under Article 63.057, the law enforcement agency shall reverify the status of a high-risk missing person.
Art. 63.061: Destruction of Samples
All DNA samples extracted from a living person shall be destroyed after a positive identification is made and a report is issued.
Art. 63.062: Confidentiality
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the results of a forensic DNA analysis performed by the center are confidential.
Art. 63.063: Criminal Penalty
(a) A person who collects, processes, or stores a DNA sample from a living person for forensic DNA analysis under this subchapter commits an offense if the person intentionally violates Article 63.061 or 63.062.
Art. 63.064: Civil Penalty
A person who collects, processes, or stores a DNA sample from a living person for forensic DNA analysis under this subchapter and who intentionally violates Article 63.061 or 63.062 is liable in civil damages to the donor of the DNA in the amount of $5,000 for each violation, plus reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.
Art. 63.065: Missing Persons Dna Database Fund
(a) The missing persons DNA database fund is a separate account in the general revenue fund.
(b) Notwithstanding Article 56B.453(a), the legislature may appropriate money in the compensation to victims of crime fund and the compensation to victims of crime auxiliary fund to fund the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth missing persons DNA database. Legislative appropriations under this subsection shall be deposited to the credit of the account created under Subsection (a).
Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 469 (H.B. 4173), Sec. 2.22, eff. January 1, 2021.
Art. 63.066: Backlog of Unidentified Human Remains: Advisory Committee and Outsourcing
(a) The center shall create an advisory committee, consisting of medical examiners, law enforcement officials, and other interested persons as determined appropriate by the center, to impose priorities regarding the identification of the backlog of high-risk missing person cases and unidentified human remains.