HBA-SEP H.B. 2798 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2798
By: Menendez
Criminal Jurisprudence
6/14/2001
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Few effective options exist for law enforcement to stop fleeing vehicles
safely.  Other than physical arrest, vehicle pursuit is the most common
high-liability area of law enforcement.  A 1996 report by the National Law
Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center estimates that a collision of
some type can be expected to occur in 32 percent of police pursuits.  When
the severity of these collisions is analyzed, 20 percent will result in
property damage, 13 percent will result in personal injury, and 1.2 percent
will result in a fatality.  Approximately 70 percent of all pursuit-related
injuries and fatalities will involve the occupants of the pursued vehicle,
while 14 percent will involve law enforcement and 15 percent, innocent,
uninvolved parties.  House Bill 2798 increases the penalty and financial
responsibility for a person convicted of evading arrest or detention to
serve as a deterrent for future incidents.   

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 2798 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to add to the
definition of "victim," in relation to provisions regarding restitution
liens, an individual who suffers damages as a result of another evading
arrest or detention, in which the defendant used a motor vehicle while the
defendant was in flight.  The bill adds that the state has a restitution
lien to secure the amount of damages incurred by the state as a result of a
defendant using a motor vehicle while the actor is in flight to evade
arrest or detention.  The bill increases, from a Class A misdemeanor to a
state jail felony, the penalty for evading arrest or detention if the actor
uses a vehicle while the actor is in flight and the actor has not been
previously convicted for evading arrest. The bill also increases, from a
state jail felony to a third degree felony, the penalty for using a vehicle
while the actor is in flight and the actor has previously been convicted
for evading arrest.    

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.