HBA-DMD, PDH H.B. 279 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 279
By: Wise
Public Safety
4/8/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, local law enforcement authorities are required to
publish information related to the release of a sex offender from prison in
the newspaper of greatest circulation in the county in which the person
intends to reside. However, the statute does not specify the section of the
newspaper in which this notice must be published. This allows for these
notifications to be published in certain sections which may escape the
reader's attention. H.B. 279 requires local law enforcement authorities to
request that the initial and duplicate newspaper notices involving
registered sex offenders who intend to reside in a municipality or county
or who are moving to another municipality or county in this state be
displayed where the greatest number of readers will see and read the
notice.  

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 Article 62.03, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding
Subsection (h), as follows: 

(h)  Requires the local law enforcement authority to request that the
initial and duplicate newspaper notices described in Subsection (e) (which
involve registered sex offenders who intend to reside in a municipality or
county) be displayed where the greatest number of readers will see and read
the notice. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Article 62.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding
Subsection (j), as follows: 

(j)  Requires the local law enforcement authority to request that the
initial and duplicate newspaper notices described in Subsection (f) (which
involve registered sex offenders moving to another municipality or county
in this state) be displayed where the greatest number of readers will see
and read the notice. 

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.