HBA-EDN, AMW H.B. 988 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 988 By: Dutton Criminal Jurisprudence 3/19/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law provides that a person commits an offense of prostitution if the person offers to engage, agrees to engage, or engages in sexual conduct for a fee or if the person solicits another in a public place to engage the person in sexual conduct for hire. The punishment for such offenses is either a Class A or Class B misdemeanor, depending upon whether the defendant has a prior conviction, but these penalties may not be sufficient to deter these activities. House Bill 988 prohibits a person from soliciting, offering, or engaging in prostitution in any traffic area and increases the penalties for these offenses. 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 988 amends the Penal Code to increase the penalties for certain offenses of prostitution. The bill increases the penalty for prostitution from a Class B misdemeanor or Class A misdemeanor to a third degree felony. The bill increases the penalty for promotion of prostitution from a Class A misdemeanor to a second degree felony. The bill increases the penalty for aggravated promotion of prostitution from a third degree felony to a second degree felony. The bill modifies the elements for the offense of prostitution to provide that the offense be committed in any traffic area and removes language that provides that the solicitation of another take place in public. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.