AEZ H.B. 312 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS


CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE
H.B. 312
By: Place
2-13-97
Committee Report (Unamended)



BACKGROUND
 
The Punishment Standards Commission recommended to the 73rd Legislature
that the offense of compounding be combined with  tampering with a witness
(Section 36.05, Tampering with Witness) because of the similarity of  the
offenses.  Compounding occurs when a witness solicits, accepts or agrees
to accept any benefit and then abstains, delays or discontinues the
prosecution of another for an offense. In the rewritten statute, a
"glitch" occurred and the new law relating to compounding inadvertently
reads "to abstain from, discontinue, or delay the prosecution of another
witness."  

PURPOSE

This bill, if enacted, will clean up the language in the present statute
to remove the unintended word witness, thereby eliminating
misunderstandings as to the intent of the law. 

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 Section 36.05 (a)(5)Penal Code Tampering With a Witness by deleting
the word "witness" from abstaining, discontinuing, or delaying the
prosecution of another. 

SECTION 2.
Change in law applies to an offense committed on or after the effective
date of this legislation.   

SECTION 3.
Effective date:  September 1, 1997.

SECTION 4.
Emergency Clause