HBA-SEP H.B. 131 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 131
By: Deshotel
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/10/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, a law enforcement agency (agency) that requests a
medical examination of a victim of an alleged sexual assault for use in the
investigation or prosecution of the offense is required to pay all costs of
the examination.  This examination can be costly and while there are
avenues for agencies in larger metropolitan areas regarding allocation of
examination costs, agencies in less populous areas may be at a
disadvantage.  Though a sexual assault victim should not be dependent on an
agency budget, some such agencies may be reluctant to refer victims.  House
Bill 131 entitles a law enforcement agency to be reimbursed for the
reasonable costs of a medical examination of a victim of an alleged sexual
assault if that information is to be used in the investigation or
prosecution of the offense.   

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. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 131 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure entitles, upon
application to the attorney general, a law enforcement agency to be
reimbursed for the reasonable costs of a medical examination of a victim of
an alleged sexual assault if that information is to be used in the
investigation or prosecution of the offense. The bill also authorizes the
attorney general to use the compensation to victims of crime fund to
reimburse a law enforcement agency for the incurred costs.   

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes
effect September 1, 2001.