HBA-RBT H.B. 903 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 903 By: Tillery Corrections 3/5/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, life without parole is not an authorized disposition of a criminal case in Texas. Defendants convicted of murder, aggravated sexual assault, or sexual assault can be paroled after serving one-half their sentence or 30 years, whichever is less. H.B. 903 requires those defendants sentenced to life in prison for murder or aggravated sexual assault as well as inmates sentenced to 20 years for sexual assault to be ineligible for parole. This bill also requires the court to charge the jury with specific instructions regarding the defendant's parole eligibility. 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 Section 508.145(d), Government Code, to prohibit the parole of an inmate serving a life sentence for murder or aggravated sexual assault, or of an inmate serving a sentence of 20 years for sexual assault. SECTION 2. Amends Section 4(a), Article 37.07, Code of Criminal Procedure, to create Subdivision (1) from existing text. Requires the court to charge the jury with a specified charge regarding parole in the penalty phase of a trial where the jury is to assess the punishment. SECTION 3. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 4. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 5. Emergency clause.