HBA-NMO H.B. 887 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 887 By: Tillery Criminal Jurisprudence 2/21/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law classifies the murder of a individual under six years of age as a capital murder. H.B. 887 classifies the murder of an individual under 13 years of age as a capital murder if the defendant has been found in a criminal or civil proceeding to have abused or neglected the victim. 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 19.03, Penal Code, by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d), as follows: (a) Provides that a person commits capital murder if the person intentionally or knowingly causes the death of an individual who is under 13 years of age and has been convicted of an offense an element of which includes abuse or neglect of the murdered individual, or has engaged, as determined by a court in a civil proceeding, in an act involving abuse or neglect of the murdered individual. Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes. (d) Provides that "abuse" and "neglect" have the meanings assigned to those terms by Section 261.001, Family Code (Definitions). SECTION 2. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 4. Emergency clause.