HBA-KDB H.B. 3613 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3613 By: Martinez Fischer Criminal Jurisprudence 4/9/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, the court is required to sentence certain repeat offenders of public intoxication to probation, which includes substance abuse counseling. A court is authorized to sentence such an offender to jail only after the third conviction. There is concern that certain individuals who are sentenced to probation and fined do not have the resources to comply with the terms of the punishment. When an offender violates the terms of probation, probation is revoked and the offender is sent to jail. This situation may be inefficient as well as burdensome for judges, district attorneys, police officers, and probation officers who are forced to devote more time to cases in which the offender may have been better served with one jail sentence. House Bill 3613 authorizes the court, upon showing of good cause, to sentence a defendant convicted of public intoxication to confinement in jail. 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 3613 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to authorize a court, upon a showing of good cause, to sentence a defendant convicted of public intoxication to confinement in jail for a term not to exceed 180 days, rather than probation. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.