General and Special Laws of The State of Texas Passed By The Regular Session of the Sixty-Seventh Legislature, Volume 1 Page: 729

                                
67th LEGISLATURE-REGULAR SESSION

WIRE OR ORAL COMMUNICATIONS--INTERCEPTION
AND USE
CHAPTER 275
H. B. No. 360
An Act relating to the interception and use of wire or oral communications;
providing penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas:
Section 1. Chapter 18, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1965, as amend-
ed, is amended by adding 15 Article 18.20 to read as follows:
Art. 18.20. Interception and use of wire or oral communications
Definitions
Sec. 1. In this article:
(1) "Wire communication" means a communication made in whole or
in part through the use of facilities for the transmission of communica-
tions by the aid of wire, cable, or other like connection between the point
of origin and the point of reception furnished or operated by a person en-
gaged as a common carrier in providing or operating the facilities for the
transmission of communications.
(2) "Oral communication" means an oral communication uttered by a
person exhibiting an expectation that the communication is not subject to
interception under circumstances justifying that expectation.
(3) "Intercept" means the aural acquisition of the contents of a wire
or oral communication through the use of an electronic, mechanical, or
other device.
(4) "Electronic, mechanical, or other device" means a device or appa-
ratus primarily designed or used for the nonconsensual interception of
wire or oral communications.
(5) "Investigative or law enforcement officer" means an officer of
this state or of a political subdivision of this state who is empowered by
law to conduct investigations of or to make arrests for offenses enumer-
ated in Section 4 of this article or an attorney authorized by law to pros-
ecute or participate in the prosecution of the enumerated offenses.
(6) "Contents," when used with respect to a wire or oral communica-
tion, includes any information concerning the identity of the parties to
the communication or the existence, substance, purport, or meaning of
that communication.
(7) "Judge of competent jurisdiction" means a judge from the panel
of nine active district judges with criminal jurisdiction appointed by the
presiding judge of the court of criminal appeals as provided by Section 3
of this article.
(8) "Prosecutor" means a district attorney, criminal district attorney,
or county attorney performing the duties of a district attorney, with jur-
isdiction in the county in which the facility or place where the communi-
cation to be intercepted is located.
15. Vernon's Ann.C.C.P. art. 18.20.
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Ch. 275