HBA-CBW, LJP H.B. 871 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 871 By: Dutton Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 3/5/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, a parent or other person has the duty to control and reasonably discipline a child. However, when parents are faced with exercising reasonable discipline of their minor children, they frequently are confused as to whether they may be subjected to charges of child abuse at a later date because of the use of corporal punishment. House Bill 871 authorizes a parent to use reasonable punishment for the discipline of the parent's child. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 871 amends the Family Code to provide that a parent has the right to use corporal punishment for the reasonable discipline of the parent's child. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.