HBA-AMW H.B. 1250 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1250
By: Dutton
Criminal Jurisprudence
3/25/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Many minority motorists across the country have been treated differently
than nonminority motorists when stopped by law enforcement officers. The
federal government is considering, and several states have undertaken,
measures aimed at preventing racial profiling by law enforcement officers.
A recent Department of Public Safety study found that African-American and
Hispanic motorists were more likely than Caucasian motorists to be
subjected to searches after being stopped by a state trooper. Current law
does not contain provisions specifically targeted toward reducing or
eliminating racial profiling as a law enforcement practice.  House Bill
1250 provides that it is a Class A misdemeanor if a peace officer makes a
discretionary decision to detain, arrest, or search an individual based
upon the individual's race or ethnicity and provides an exception to the
offense if, at the time of making the decision, the officer had information
that the individual had committed an offense. 

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 1250 amends the Penal Code to provide that it is a Class A
misdemeanor if a peace officer makes a discretionary decision relating to
the detention, arrest, or search of an individual based on the individual's
race or ethnicity.  The bill provides that it is not an offense if, at the
time of making the decision relating to the detention, arrest, or search of
the individual, the officer had information that the individual had
committed an offense.  The bill prohibits evidence obtained in violation of
the provisions of the bill from being admitted in evidence in a criminal
proceeding against the individual who was detained, arrested, or searched,
unless the evidence was obtained by a law enforcement officer acting in
objective good faith reliance upon a warrant issued by a neutral magistrate
based on probable cause. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.