SGN C.S.H.B. 126 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS


CORRECTIONS
C.S.H.B. 126
By: Danburg
4-16-97
Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND   

In the larger urban cities, municipal and county jails often release
inmates from their custody at times when services, such as bus
transportation, may be unavailable.  Some releasees have friends and
family that are able to pick them up, but many may end up on the street.
Women, the sick and the mentally ill who are released at night and end up
on the streets, are often victimized. 

PURPOSE

As proposed, C.S.H.B. 126 would require a defendant convicted of a
misdemeanor and sentenced to confinement in jail of more than 30 days to
be discharged at any time between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on
the day of the discharge. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or
institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Article 43.13, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding
Subsection (b) which provides that a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor
and sentenced to a term of confinement of more than 30 days discharges the
defendant's sentence at any time between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on
the day of discharge. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1997.

SECTION 3. Emergency clause.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

The original bill required the TDCJ, municipal, and county jails to
release inmates from their custody only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5
p.m. and only on a weekday other than a weekday that is a state or
national holiday.  The substitute provides that only defendants convicted
of a misdemeanor and sentenced to a term of confinement of more than 30
days be discharged between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on the day of
the discharge.