BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 705 |
By: Howard |
Criminal Jurisprudence |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
It has been reported that violent attacks on nurses and other emergency medical personnel are increasing nationwide. Research from a national emergency nurses association shows that the emergency services environment is one of the most dangerous work settings in health care for nurses because of potential violence from patients and visitors and that approximately 25 percent of surveyed emergency department nurses had experienced physical violence numerous times over the past few years. Current Texas law enhances the penalty for assault from a Class A misdemeanor to a third degree felony if committed against emergency services personnel while providing emergency services. However, this law does not include hospital emergency room personnel, who must file charges, provide depositions, and go through other related processes if assaulted. C.S.H.B. 705 seeks to extend the protections regarding assault granted to emergency services personnel to emergency room personnel while providing emergency services.
|
||||||||||
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
|
||||||||||
ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 705 amends the Penal Code to expand the definition of "emergency services personnel," for purposes of statutory provisions regarding the offense of assault, to include emergency room personnel.
|
||||||||||
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2013.
|
||||||||||
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 705 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
|
||||||||||
|