HBA-SEP H.B. 1807 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1807
By: Geren
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/1/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The 76th Legislature, in an effort to enable courts to adjudicate more
cases in a timely manner, increased the amount, from $50 to $100, of credit
a defendant receives for performing community service in lieu of paying a
fine.   Many smaller justice courts with shorter dockets make efficient use
of the community service option.  Therefore, the $100 daily rate of
discharge effectively halved the amount of productive community service
performed.  Before the rate change, the credit level gave an average hourly
rate of $6.25 per hour which exceeds the minimum wage and is comparable to
pay for similar work in the community.  House Bill 1807 provides a court
discretion to discharge not less than $50 or more than $100 of fines or
costs for each eight hours of community service performed.  

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 1807 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to provide that a
defendant who is unable to pay a fine or costs is considered to have
discharged, as specified by the court, not less than $50 or more than $100
of fines or costs for each eight hours of community service performed. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.