| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Positive | Positive |
Relating to intelligence databases for combinations and criminal
street gangs.
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
Under current law, the Texas Department of Public Safety operates a centralized database of people known or suspected to be gang members. The database is known as TXGANG or the Texas Gang Intelligence Index. As with any centralized government database, TXGANG lacks transparency and due process protections and can result in unintended collateral consequences for people placed in the database, especially people who don't belong in it in the first place.
HB 1838 would implement several reforms to TXGANG, including requiring a law enforcement agency, within 60 days, to notify a person who has been included in the database and include a description of the process for disputing the inclusion of information in the database, including associated costs or fees, processes and timelines, and any potential evidence necessary for purposes of a dispute, as well as a description of the process for removing information from the database following renunciation of criminal street gang membership.
HB 1838 would prohibit the release and use of the information in the intelligence database from being made available or used to determine a person's eligibility for employment, limit their constitutional rights, or their ability to obtain any state or federal license, permit, or benefit.
HB 1838 would also require an annual audit by the state auditor with any record older than 10 years old needing to be reviewed and shown sufficient evidence for continued inclusion.
Texas Action supports HB 1838 which is in alignment with our individual liberty and limited government principles. Law enforcement tools should always be counterweighted by due process requirements to ensure that the rights of citizens are not violated and that preemptive tools such as centralized databases do not act as a dragnet to sweep up the innocent and cause unintended collateral consequences.