HBA-BSM H.B. 374 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 374 By: Wohlgemuth Criminal Jurisprudence 7/19/2001 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Child safety programs provide police departments with an ideal resource for educating child victims of crime and funding school safety programs. Some departments teach children in a classroom setting about the dangers of drugs, safely crossing the street, and how and when to use 9-1-1. Funds for these programs are collected from people convicted of a variety of traffic offenses. During the 75th legislative session, a limit was enacted that only allowed municipalities with a population of 400,000 or more to collect funds for particular offenses, including those offenses that occur within a school crossing zone and the offense of passing a school bus. This population requirement made it difficult for many smaller municipalities to collect funds for and maintain child safety programs. House Bill 374 removes the population requirement for a municipality to collect funds for these violations. 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 374 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to remove the population limit of 400,000 or more for a municipality to be able to collect court costs and fines from violators of traffic offenses within a school crossing zone and who commit an offense of passing a school bus. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.