Texas Bill Would Outlaw Voice Stress Analysis

[George W. Maschke]

Texas state senator John J. Carona has sponsored an amendment (S.B. No. 562) to the state's polygraph licensing law that would effectively outlaw voice stress analysis in the state of Texas by adding a subsection "c" to Section 1703.305 of the Occupations Code:

(c)  A person may not, for compensation or for a law enforcement purpose, use a voice stress analyzer or similar device to detect deception or verify the truth of a statement.

Slick move. Polygraph operators have long detested the competing pseudoscience of voice stress analysis. Now in Texas, it looks like they're attempting to legislate it out of existence.

By far the most common voice stress analyzer in use by law enforcement agencies in the United States is the Computer Voice Stress Analyzer (CVSA), which is marketed by the so-called "National Institute for Truth Verification" (NITV). According to NITV's website, only one law enforcement agency in the state of Texas uses the CVSA.

Senator Carona's bill would also provide for waivers to the state's licensing requirements for those with military or other federal polygraph experience, as well as those who have "a combination of education and experience the executive director determines to be substantially equivalent to that required under Section 1703.203"

That last waiver option seems like an invitation to cronyism.

Update: A PDF printout of Texas S.B. No. 562 is attached.