§ 18B.001 — DEFINITIONS.

Texas § 18B.001

• Jurisdiction: Texas
• Code CR: Code of Criminal Procedure

Text

Art. 18B.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Authorized peace officer" means:
(A) a sheriff or deputy sheriff;
(B) a constable or deputy constable;
(C) a marshal or police officer of a municipality;
(D) a ranger or officer commissioned by the Public Safety Commission or the director of the department;
(E) an investigator of a prosecutor's office;
(F) a law enforcement agent of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission;
(G) a law enforcement officer commissioned by the Parks and Wildlife Commission;
(H) an enforcement officer appointed by the inspector general of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice under Section 493.019 , Government Code;
(I) a law enforcement officer appointed by the inspector general of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department under Section 242.102 , Human Resources Code;
(J) an investigator commissioned by the attorney general under Section 402.009 , Government Code;
(K) a member of an arson investigating unit commissioned by a municipality, a county, or the state;
(L) a peace officer commissioned under Section 37.081 or 51.203 , Education Code; or
(M) an investigator commissioned by the commissioner of insurance under Section 701.104 , Insurance Code.
(2) "Communication common carrier," "electronic communication," "electronic communications service," "user," and "wire communication" have the meanings assigned by Article 18A.001 .
(3) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas.
(4) "Designated law enforcement office or agency" means:
(A) the sheriff's department of a county with a population of 500,000 or more;
(B) a police department in a municipality with a population of 200,000 or more;
(C) the office of inspector general of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; or
(D) the office of inspector general of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
(5) "Domestic entity" has the meaning assigned by Section 1.002 , Business Organizations Code.
(6) "Electronic communications system" means:
(A) a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photo-optical, or photoelectronic facility for the transmission of wire or electronic communications; and
(B) any computer facility or related electronic equipment for the electronic storage of wire or electronic communications.
(7) "Electronic customer data" means data or records that:
(A) are in the possession, care, custody, or control of a provider of an electronic communications service or provider of a remote computing service; and
(B) contain:
(i) information revealing the identity of customers of the applicable service;
(ii) information about a customer's use of the applicable service;
(iii) information that identifies the recipient or destination of a wire or electronic communication sent to or by a customer;
(iv) the content of a wire or electronic communication sent to or by a customer;
(v) any data stored with the applicable service provider by or on behalf of a customer; or
(vi) location information.
(8) "Electronic storage" means storage of electronic customer data in a computer, computer network, or computer system, regardless of whether the data is subject to recall, further manipulation, deletion, or transmission. The term includes storage of a wire or electronic communication by an electronic communications service or a remote computing service.
(9) "ESN reader" means a device that, without intercepting the contents of a communication, records the electronic serial number from the data track of a wireless telephone, cellular telephone, or similar communication device that transmits its operational status to a base site.
(9-a) "Immediate life-threatening situation" has the meaning assigned by Article 18A.201 .
(9-b) "Location information" means data, records, or other information that is created by or accessible to a provider of an electronic communications service or a provider of a remote computing service and may be used to identify the geographic physical location of a communication device, including the current, real-time, or prospective geographic physical location of a communication device.
(10) "Pen register" means a device or process that records or decodes dialing, routing, addressing, or signaling information transmitted by an instrument or facility from which a wire or electronic communication is transmitted, if the information does not include the contents of the communication. The term does not include a device used by a provider or customer of a wire or electronic communications service in the ordinary course of the service provider's or customer's business for purposes of:
(A) billing or recording incident to billing for communications services; or
(B) cost accounting, security control, or other ordinary business purposes.
(11) "Prosecutor" means a district attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney performing the duties of a district attorney.
(12) "Remote computing service" means the provision of computer storage or processing services to the public by means of an electronic communications system.
(13) "Trap and trace device" means a device or process that records an incoming electronic or other impulse that identifies the originating number or other dialing, routing, addressing, or signaling information reasonably likely to identify the source of a wire or electronic communication, if the information does not include the contents of the communication. The term does not include a device or telecommunications network used in providing:
(A) a caller identification service authorized by the Public Utility Commission of Texas under Subchapter E , Chapter 55 , Utilities Code;
(B) the services referenced by Section 55.102 (b), Utilities Code; or
(C) a caller identification service provided by a commercial mobile radio service provider licensed by the Federal Communications Commission.
SUBCHAPTER B. APPLICATION FOR ORDER AUTHORIZING INSTALLATION AND USE OF EQUIPMENT

Legislative History

Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1058 (H.B. 2931 ), Sec. 1.02, eff. January 1, 2019. Amended by: Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 917 (H.B. 4157 ), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2019. Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 488 (H.B. 3363 ), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2021. Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 536 (S.B. 112 ), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2021. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 901 (H.B. 4906 ), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2023. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 950 (S.B. 1727 ), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2023. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 204 (H.B. 1620 ), Sec. 5.013, eff. September 1, 2025. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 353 (S.B. 739 ), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2025. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 885 (S.B. 2580 ), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2025.