HBA-SEP H.B. 1955 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1955
By: Zbranek
Criminal Jurisprudence
3/25/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, a defendant placed in jail on account of failure to pay
the fine and costs of a case is required to be discharged when the
defendant has remained in jail a sufficient length of time to satisfy the
fine and costs.  The defendant may satisfy this amount at a rate of not
less than $100 for each day or part of a day of jail time served, while a
defendant who performs exactly eight hours of community service is
discharged from $100 of fines or costs.  Defining a specific time period
for defendants serving jail time to satisfy fines and costs will make these
provisions more consistent.  House Bill 1955 authorizes a convicting court
to specify a period of time that is not less than eight hours or more than
24 hours as the period for which a misdemeanant who fails to pay the fine
and costs in the case must remain in jail to satisfy $100 of the fine and
costs.  

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 1955 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to authorize a
convicting court to specify a period of time that is not less than eight
hours or more than 24 hours as the period for which a misdemeanant who
fails to pay the fine and costs in the case must remain in jail to satisfy
$100 of the fine and costs.  

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.