SRC-BWC C.S.H.B. 1600 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research CenterC.S.H.B. 1600
77R14111 GWK-DBy: Jones, Elizabeth (Van de Putte)
Criminal Justice
4-26-2001
Committee Report (Substituted)


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

On February 3, 2001, John Anthony "Rocky" Riojas, an eleven-year veteran of
the San Antonio Police Department, was fatally shot with his own gun while
scuffling with a man at an apartment complex. Under current law, the
penalty for an offense of taking or attempting to take a weapon away from a
peace officer, parole officer, or community supervision and corrections
department officer is a state jail felony. C.S.H.B. 1600, filed in honor of
John Anthony "Rocky" Riojas, increases the penalty for such an offense to a
felony of the third degree.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a
state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 38.14(e), Penal Code, to provide that an offense
under this section is a third degree felony if the defendant took a weapon
described by Subsection (b) from an officer described by Subsection (b) and
is a state jail felony if the defendant attempted to take the weapon from
the officer. 

SECTION 2.  Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 2001.

SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE CHANGES

Differs from As Filed version in SECTION 1 by adding text to more clearly
explain a third degree felony under this section, and reinserting a state
jail felony that was previously deleted from the As Filed version.