1-1     By:  Goodman, Gray (Senate Sponsor - Cain)           H.C.R. No. 200
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 7, 2001;
 1-3     May 7, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Administration; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the following
 1-5     vote:  Yeas 3, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                         HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-7           WHEREAS, The Texas Penal Code has been selected as the
 1-8     best-written, best-integrated penal code in the United States
 1-9     today; and
1-10           WHEREAS, This conclusion was reached in a study by Professor
1-11     Paul H. Robinson of the Northwestern University Law School and two
1-12     of his former students and is contained in their Northwestern
1-13     University Law Review article, "The Five Worst (and Five Best)
1-14     American Criminal Codes," published in Fall 2000; and
1-15           WHEREAS, The authors evaluated the penal codes of all 52
1-16     jurisdictions  with regard to five criteria: 1)  how
1-17     comprehensively the code states the law's commands; 2)  how
1-18     effectively the code communicates the law's commands to the public;
1-19     3)  how comprehensive and accessible the code's rules are with
1-20     regard to determining whether to impose liability and the general
1-21     grade of punishment to be imposed; 4)  how accurately the code
1-22     assesses who does and who does not deserve criminal liability; and
1-23     5)  how accurately the code assesses the proper grade of punishment
1-24     deserved by offenders who are held criminally liable; and
1-25           WHEREAS, Much of the credit for the writing of the present
1-26     Texas Penal Code belongs to the Legal Division of the Texas
1-27     Legislative Council, which drafted a revised penal code that was
1-28     adopted by the 63rd Texas Legislature in 1973; council attorneys
1-29     were also responsible for a rewrite of the revised penal code
1-30     adopted by the 73rd Legislature in 1993 in response to
1-31     recommendations of the Texas Punishment Standards Commission; and
1-32           WHEREAS, The State of Texas has a penal code that admirably
1-33     serves its citizens and is recognized by legal scholars for its
1-34     clarity, comprehensiveness, and accuracy, and the council attorneys
1-35     and others who were involved in the drafting and preparation of
1-36     this code are indeed deserving of special tribute; now, therefore,
1-37     be it
1-38           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
1-39     hereby commend the Texas Legislative Council for its excellent work
1-40     on the revised Texas Penal Code, the best-written criminal code in
1-41     the United States of America.
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