HBA-NMO H.B. 656 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 656 By: Noriega Criminal Jurisprudence 3/23/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law provides that a person commits a Class B misdemeanor if the person, in order to create a state of intoxication, inhales, ingests, applies, or uses a substance containing a volatile chemical, or possesses such a substance with the intent to do so. The law also provides that a person commits a class B misdemeanor if the person sells or delivers such a substance to a minor. Nevertheless, recent studies have found that inhalant use by minors remains problematic in certain areas of the state. H.B. 656 increases the penalty to a state jail felony for selling or delivering a substance containing certain volatile chemicals to a minor. 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 Section 484.005(e), Health and Safety Code, to provide that an offense under this section is a state jail felony, rather than a Class B misdemeanor. A person commits an offense under this section if the person sells or delivers, to a minor, a substance containing a volatile chemical that is subject to special labeling requirements concerning precautions against inhalation. SECTION 2. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 4. Emergency clause.