By Staples                                      H.B. No. 1792

      75R7278 GWK-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the authority of a judge to impose sentence on a

 1-3     defendant convicted of a state jail felony.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 15(a), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal

 1-6     Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

 1-7           (a)  On conviction of a state jail felony punished under

 1-8     Section 12.35(a), Penal Code, the judge [shall suspend the

 1-9     imposition of the sentence of confinement and place the defendant

1-10     on community supervision, unless the defendant has been previously

1-11     convicted of a felony, in which event the judge] may suspend the

1-12     imposition of the sentence and place the defendant on community

1-13     supervision or may order the sentence to be executed.  The judge

1-14     may suspend in whole or in part the imposition of any fine imposed

1-15     on conviction.

1-16           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies

1-17     only to a defendant convicted of an offense committed on or after

1-18     the effective date of this Act.  For purposes of this section, an

1-19     offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any

1-20     element of the offense occurs before the effective date.

1-21           (b)  A defendant convicted of an offense committed before the

1-22     effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the

1-23     offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect

1-24     for that purpose.

 2-1           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 2-2           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

 2-3     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-4     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-5     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-6     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.