CJ C.S.H.B. 1150 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS JUVENILE JUSTICE & FAMILY ISSUES C.S.H.B. 1150 By: Greenberg 3-6-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Texas schools have become entirely too dangerous. The Texas Education Agency reported over 50,000 incidents of assault against students and teachers during the 1995-96 academic year. In order to ensure school safety, school districts need to be informed of dangerous and threatening crimes committed by students attending their local schools. This bill details the specific crimes requiring reports to local school districts. PURPOSE The purpose of this bill is to clarify the nature of crimes reportable, by law enforcement agencies, to local Independent School Districts. 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 This bill relates to the notification of school personnel of the arrest or detention of a student Section 1. Amends article 15.27(h) to apply to any offense other than an offense punishable by fine only. Section 2. Effective date. Section 3. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The original bill did not specify the crimes reportable to the local school district. The original simply required that all offenses other than offenses punishable by a fine be reported. The committee substitute clearly states which crimes shall be reported. The crimes are listed below: (A) Title V crimes include; criminal homicide, murder, capital murder, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, kidnapping and false imprisonment, sexual offenses, assaultive offenses: sexual assault, injury to a child, elderly or disabled, abandoning or endangering a child, deadly conduct, consent as defense to assaultive conduct, terrorist threat, tampering with consumer product and leaving a child in a vehicle. (section B was added) (B) The following crimes are also reportable; arson, robbery, aggravated robbery, burglary and criminal trespass, and involvement in organized crime. (This includes gang activity) (2) Unlawful use, sale or possession of a controlled substance, drug paraphernalia, or marihuana. (3) Unlawful possession of weapons or devices as listed in Sections 46.01(1)-(14) or (16) Penal Code. These weapons include; clubs, explosive weapons, firearms, firearm silencers, handguns, illegal knives, knives, knuckles, machine guns, short-barrel firearms, switchblade knives, armorpiercing ammunition, hoax bombs, chemical dispensing devices, and zip guns. (This section is new) (4) felony in which a deadly weapon as defined by section 1.07 of the penal code, was used by a student.