Bill: HB 673, 85(R) - 2017

Relating to the creation of a criminal justice web portal by the office of the attorney general.

Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB673, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: a negative impact of ($1,152,505) through the biennium ending August 31, 2019.

The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.

This bill would require the office of attorney general to develop and maintain a web portal to collect, compile, and analyze data related to criminal justice. The attorney general would direct all law enforcement agencies to submit to the web portal, any reports that are required including data on officer involved shootings, deaths, and injuries. The web portal would be publicly accessible, and would provide an analysis and visual representation of the data collected from the required reports.

The web portal created by this bill would increase transparency and allow individuals interested in criminal justice policy to access data. We support HB 673 because it is the proper role of government to provide access to information about how the state’s laws are enforced in practice.