SRC-CDH S.B. 663 75(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 663
By: Whitmire
Criminal Justice
3-13-97
As Filed


DIGEST 

Currently, on conviction of a state jail felony, a judge is required to
suspend the sentence and place the defendant on community supervision if
the person is a first-offender, and a judge may require the defendant to
be incarcerated as a condition of probation.  This legislation makes all
probation discretionary while allowing direct incarceration of a
defendant.  In addition, S.B. 663 authorizes a judge to require a
defendant to be confined in a state jail during any period of the
defendant's sentence, rather than only at the beginning of the community
supervision period. 

PURPOSE

As proposed, S.B. 663 establishes the authority of a judge to place a
defendant convicted of a state jail felony on community supervision and
the conditions of community supervision that the judge may impose on the
defendant. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Sections 15(a) and (d), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal
Procedure, to authorize a judge, on conviction of a state jail felony
punished under Section 12.35(a), Penal Code, to suspend the imposition of
the sentence and place the defendant on community supervision or order the
sentence to be executed, rather than requiring a judge, under the same
circumstances, to suspend the imposition of the sentence of confinement
and place the defendant on community supervision, unless the defendant has
been previously convicted of a felony.  Authorizes a judge to impose as a
condition of community supervision that a defendant submit at any time
during, rather than at the beginning of, the period of community
supervision to a certain term of confinement in a state jail felony
facility.   

SECTION 2. Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3. Effective date:  September 1, 1997.  

SECTION 4. Emergency clause.