HBA-AMW H.B. 1354 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1354
By: Noriega
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/1/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law authorizes district and county court judges to order
contributions by defendants to a crime stoppers organization.  A crime
stoppers organization is not allowed to spend more than 10 percent of the
payments received from defendants on general administrative costs and the
rest of the revenue is distributed as reward payments to individuals who
anonymously provide information to help solve felony crimes. House Bill
1354 allows municipal courts and justice courts to order defendants placed
on deferred disposition to make contributions in an amount no to exceed $10
to a crime stoppers organization as a condition of deferred disposition in
a case. 

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 1354 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to authorize a
justice or municipal court that defers disposition in a case to require as
a condition of the deferral that the defendant make one payment in an
amount not to exceed $10 to a crime stoppers organization certified by the
crime stoppers advisory council to receive payments.  

The bill amends the Government Code to add payments received by crime
stoppers organizations from defendants placed on deferred disposition to
provisions relating to the crime stoppers organization's use of the
payments, the certification by the Crime Stoppers Advisory Council of a
crime stoppers organization to receive the payments, and the review and
audit of a qualified crime stoppers organization. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.