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.