HBA-AMW H.B. 171 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 171
By: Lewis, Glenn
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/5/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Burning a place of worship is a first-degree felony, and it is a state jail
felony if the damages to a place of worship or human burial, public
monument, or community center that provides medical, social, or educational
programs are under $20,000.  Under current law, it is not a crime to
intentionally set a fire that does not continue after explosion or ignition
and causes no damage.  House Bill 171 expands the scope of certain arson
offenses and amends the criteria used to establish the amount of pecuniary
loss for property that is destroyed by a fire or explosion. 

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 171 amends the Penal Code to add to the offense of arson that it
is an offense regardless of whether the fire continues after ignition, and
also adds attempting to start a fire or causing an explosion to the
offense.  The bill adds damaging or destroying habitations and places of
assembly as arson offenses punishable as a felony in the first degree and
removes the knowledge requirement from the offense of damaging or
destroying a habitation or a place of assembly or worship.  The bill adds
damage or destruction inflicted on a public or private elementary school,
secondary school, or institution of higher education to the list of state
jail felony offenses if the amount of pecuniary loss to real property or
tangible personal property is less than $20,000.   

H.B. 171 amends the criteria used to establish the amount of pecuniary loss
for property that is destroyed by a fire or explosion.  The bill
establishes the amount of pecuniary loss for a document with a readily
ascertainable market value that is damaged or destroyed by a fire or
explosion by consulting the market, plus any other reasonably foreseeable
economic losses to the owner of the property. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.