1-1     By:  Puente (Senate Sponsor - Shapleigh)              H.B. No. 1467

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 15, 1997;

 1-3     May 16, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal

 1-4     Justice; May 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:

 1-5     Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to extending the period of community supervision for

 1-9     certain persons convicted of a misdemeanor.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 22(c), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal

1-12     Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

1-13           (c)  The judge may extend a period of community supervision

1-14     under this section as often as the judge determines is necessary,

1-15     but [in no case may] the period of community supervision in a

1-16     first, second, or third degree felony case may not exceed 10 years

1-17     and, except as otherwise provided by this subsection, [or] the

1-18     period of community supervision in a misdemeanor case may not

1-19     exceed three years. The judge may extend the period of community

1-20     supervision in a  misdemeanor case for any period the judge

1-21     determines is necessary, not to exceed an additional two years

1-22     beyond the three-year limit, if the defendant fails to pay a

1-23     previously assessed fine, costs, or restitution and the judge

1-24     determines that extending the period of supervision increases the

1-25     likelihood that the defendant will fully pay the fine, costs, or

1-26     restitution.  A court may extend a period of community supervision

1-27     under this section at any time during the period of supervision or,

1-28     if a motion for revocation of community supervision is filed before

1-29     the period of supervision ends, before the first anniversary of the

1-30     date on which the period of supervision expires.

1-31           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.  The

1-32     change in law made by this Act applies only to a defendant placed

1-33     on community supervision after conviction of an offense committed

1-34     on or after September 1, 1997.  A defendant placed on community

1-35     supervision after conviction of an offense committed before

1-36     September 1, 1997, is covered by the law in effect when the offense

1-37     was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that

1-38     purpose.  For purposes of this section, an offense was committed

1-39     before September 1, 1997, if any element of the offense occurred

1-40     before that date.

1-41           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-42     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-43     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-44     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-45     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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