Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1278 by Huffman (Relating to the authority of a judge to suspend the imposition of a sentence and place a defendant on community supervision.), As Introduced
The probable impact of implementing the bill cannot be determined due to the unavailability of reliable data or information related to the statewide number of times a judge opted to suspend the imposition of a sentence of confinement imposed by a jury and place a defendant on community supervision.
The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to prohibit a judge from suspending a jury-imposed sentence of confinement to place a defendant on community supervision if the jury did not recommend community supervision.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2009 and apply only to sentences imposed in a criminal trial that commences on or after the effective date of the bill.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.