The bill is sitting on Governor Perry's desk right now awaiting his signature (or veto), according to Texas Legislature Online.
If it gets signed into law it offers journalists a limited privilege against testifying in state courts. But there are exceptions, and the journalist has to testify in a civil proceeding if the requesting party can convince a court that he really, really needs the info and has exhausted all reasonable efforts to get it elsewhere.
In a criminal case the journalist has to testify about a confidential source if the journalist witnessed the crime; heard a confession; probable cause exists of a felony crime but law enforcement has exhausted all reasonable efforts to get the information otherwise; or disclosure of a confidential source is reasonably necessary to prevent someone from getting killed or seriously injured.
You can read the whole thing by clicking here.
To me the most interesting piece of this legislation is the definition of "journalist." The main stream media have been lobbying for a shield law in Texas for years, so they are the ones who get the privilege, not that bloggers would expect any special privileges anyway.
It's all about how the journalist makes income. A "Journalist" is someone who is earning a "substantial portion" of his/her livelihood by obtaining or preparing information for dissemination by a news medium or communication service provider. No income, no privilege.
Any part time journalists out there may need to ask for raises or quit the other job to fit under the "substantial portion" part of this shield.
Thanks for the heads-up to MyWestTexas.com which is brimming with journalists that fit the definition, so any tattlers out there who expect to be shielded by this law might want pay them a visit. Read the whole thing first as there are other exceptions not mentioned here.
Updated 5/15/09. The governor signed it on May 13, and the bill takes effect immediately. See Governor's news release.
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