HBA-KMH H.B. 54 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 54
By: Cuellar
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/23/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND & PURPOSE 

Current laws in Texas do not require a person to rescue a victim except
where there is a special relationship between the rescuer and the victim.
Courts have been wary of creating such a duty but have approved of
protections for persons who volunteer assistance.  H.B. 54 creates an
exception to the general rule of assistance by requiring an individual to
assist a peace officer in making an arrest or  in preventing the commission
of a crime in certain instances, when requested by the peace officer. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 42, Penal Code, by adding Section 42.13, as
follows: 

Sec. 42.13.  FAILING TO ASSIST PEACE OFFICER.  Establishes that it is a
Class B misdemeanor offense for a person to refuse or fail to assist
someone the person knows, or should have known, to be a peace officer who
requests the person's assistance in making an arrest of another person or
preventing the commission of a crime by another person in such cases in
which a reasonable person, under the same existing circumstances, would
have assisted the officer. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date:  September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.