HBA-SEP C.S.H.B. 460 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 460 By: Hartnett Criminal Jurisprudence 4/25/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law provides that the first conviction of a person who knowingly engages in or offers or agrees to engage in sexual conduct for a fee, or solicits another in a public place to engage in sexual conduct for hire (prostitution) is a Class B misdemeanor. The penalty for subsequent convictions is a Class A misdemeanor. These penalties may not be sufficient to deter this activity. C.S.H.B. 460 provides that prostitution is a state jail felony if a person has been previously convicted of prostitution three or more times, and the offense was committed in or within 300 feet of a residential area. 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 C.S.H.B. 460 amends the Penal Code to provide that prostitution is a state jail felony if a person has been previously convicted of prostitution three or more times, and the offense was committed in or within 300 feet of a residential area. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 460 modifies the original to specify that in order for a prostitution offense after the third or subsequent offense to be a state jail felony, the offense has to have been committed in or within 300 feet of a residential area. The original bill made prostitution a state jail felony after three or more convictions.