HBA-BSM, NRS H.B. 22 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 22 By: Corte Criminal Jurisprudence 4/12/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Childhood is a critical time in a person's development. Sadly, there are people in this world who abuse this vulnerability causing great psychological and emotional damage to the children they abuse. Some people feel that the law should be tightened to create a greater deterrent against the sexual assault of children, especially because of the large number of repeat offenders. In 1991, 19 percent of those persons serving time in state prisons for sexual assault had been on probation or parole at the time of the offense for which they were arrested. Under current Texas law, the punishment for sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, or indecency with a child is a first or second degree felony. Currently, an offender who commits these crimes can serve as little as two years of the sentence with a possibility of parole. House Bill 22 makes sexual assault, aggravated assault, or indecency with a child an offense in the first degree punishable by life imprisonment without parole. 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 22 amends the Penal Code to provide that a person who engages in sexual contact with a child younger than 17 years who is not the person's spouse, whether the child is of the same or opposite sex, commits an offense punishable by imprisonment in the institutional division for life, rather than a felony of the second degree. The bill provides that a person commits an offense punishable by imprisonment in the institutional division for life, rather than a felony of the second degree, if the person intentionally or knowingly causes the penetration of the anus or female sexual organ of a child by any means, the penetration of the mouth of a child by the sexual organ of the actor, the sexual organ of a child to contact or penetrate the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, the anus of a child to contact the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, or the mouth of a child to contact the anus or sexual organ of another person. The bill provides that a person commits an offense punishable by imprisonment in the institutional division for life, rather than a felony of the first degree, if the victim is younger than 14 years of age. H.B. 22 amends the Government Code to provide that an inmate is not eligible for release on parole if the inmate is serving a sentence for an offense involving engaging in sexual contact with a child younger than 17 years who is not the person's spouse, intentionally or knowingly causing the penetration of the anus or female sexual organ of a child by any means, intentionally or knowingly causing the penetration of the mouth of a child by the sexual organ of the actor, intentionally or knowingly causing the sexual organ of a child to contact or penetrate the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, intentionally or knowingly causing the anus of a child to contact the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, intentionally or knowingly causing the mouth of a child to contact the anus or sexual organ of another person, or a victim younger than 14 years of age. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.