HBA-EDN C.S.H.B. 1541 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1541 By: Luna, Vilma Criminal Jurisprudence 4/12/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, a judge may require as a condition of community supervision that a defendant complete a specified number of community service hours. However, there are legitimate difficulties a defendant can encounter in trying to complete the required community service hours. Some defendants, particularly those who live in rural areas, find it difficult to find opportunities to perform their hours. Others may have work or educational conflicts, medical restrictions, or problems obtaining child care while completing their hours. There may be an alternative through which defendants could fulfill part of their community service requirement without actually completing the specified number of hours, such as offering a donation to a charitable organization. C.S.H.B. 1541 authorizes a judge to permit a defendant to substitute a charitable contribution for up to 20 of the defendant's required community service hours. 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 C.S.H.B. 1541 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to authorize a judge to permit a defendant to substitute for community service a one-time contribution to a nonprofit or governmental program that includes as participants or recipients persons who are younger than 17 years of age and that regularly provides athletic, civic, cultural, or educational activity. The bill provides that the defendant is entitled to one hour's credit against required community service hours for each amount contributed that equals the amount of the federal minimum wage, except that a defendant is prohibited from receiving credit for more than 20 hours of required community service. The bill requires the department supervising the defendant to collect and forward the contribution to the program, as directed by the judge and requires the judge to admonish the defendant that a payment under these provisions is not a charitable contribution for the purposes of federal tax law. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 1541 modifies the original by providing that a defendant is entitled to one hour's credit against required community service hours for each amount contributed that equals the amount of the federal minimum wage, rather than one hour's credit for each dollar contributed. The substitute prohibits a defendant from receiving credit for more than 20 hours of community service, whereas the original prohibited a defendant from receiving credit for more than one-half of the required hours. The substitute requires the department supervising the defendant to collect and forward a contribution to the program, as directed by the judge. The substitute deletes the provision that a contribution is not to exceed $20.