HBA-LJP H.B. 806 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 806 By: Bonnen Criminal Jurisprudence 4/12/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, a court is authorized to punish a defendant convicted of a state jail felony by imposing the confinement permissible as punishment for a Class A misdemeanor if the court finds that such a punishment would best serve the ends of justice, but is not authorized to impose such a confinement on a defendant convicted of a third degree felony. If a court were authorized to impose such a confinement on a defendant convicted of a third degree felony, then it may help reduce the current overcrowding of prisons and jails while also imposing a sentence that would best serve the ends of justice. House Bill 806 authorizes a court to impose the confinement permissible as punishment for a Class A misdemeanor on a defendant convicted of a third degree felony. 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 806 amends the Penal Code to authorize a court to impose the confinement permissible as punishment for a Class A misdemeanor on a defendant convicted of a third degree felony if, after considering specified circumstances, the court finds that such a punishment would best serve the ends of justice. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.