HBA-EDN H.B. 1416 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1416 By: Farrar Criminal Jurisprudence 4/3/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The word society is not explicitly defined under current law, which may cause different interpretations to be made as to the exact meaning and intention of the word, particularly with regard to the sentencing of a defendant. If a defendant is found guilty in a capital case, the jury is charged with instructions to consider whether the defendant would continue to commit criminal acts of violence that would constitute a continuing threat to society. However, without an explicit statement placing the term society in context, it may be unclear to whom the defendant might be a continuing threat. House Bill 1416 specifies that society consists of the general public. 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 1416 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to modify the issues a court is required to submit to a jury if a defendant is found guilty in a capital case. The bill provides that a jury consider, when deliberating whether there is a probability that the defendant would commit criminal acts of violence that would constitute a continuing threat to society, that the defendant will be serving a minimum of 40 years in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and will be segregated from a society that consists of the general public. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.