HBA-NIK H.B. 1713 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1713
By: Ellis, Dan
Corrections
3/4/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, most attempts to prosecute inmates for the throwing of urine and
feces must be treated as a misdemeanor offense.  Such punishment provides
little deterrent to prison inmates, and in fact, most prosecutors will not
pursue misdemeanor charges against an inmate.  

H.B. 1713 makes it a criminal offense for an inmate to intentionally strike
a Texas Department of Criminal Justice employee with blood, urine, feces,
or seminal fluids.  The offense would be punishable as a 3rd degree felony. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 22, Penal Code, by adding Section 22.11 as
follows: 

Sec. 22.11.  HARASSMENT OF CERTAIN CORRECTIONS EMPLOYEES.  Sets forth that,
if while imprisoned or confined in a correctional facility operated by or
under contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and with the
intent to harm, alarm, or annoy an employee of the department, a person
commits an offense if the person causes the employee to contact the blood,
seminal fluid, urine, or feces of a person other than the employee. 

(b) Establishes that an offense under this section as a felony of the third
degree. 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.