BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 460 |
By: Bell |
Criminal Jurisprudence |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
There is some concern that a search warrant issued by a magistrate to determine the blood alcohol content level of a person suspected of driving while intoxicated cannot be executed in a county that is contiguous to the county in which the warrant was issued, even though such a warrant issued by certain judges may be executed in a contiguous county. Interested parties note that law enforcement officers often seek warrants from a magistrate, rather than a judge, when in pursuit of a person suspected of driving while intoxicated because magistrates are more readily available to the officers for search warrant purposes in evenings and on weekends. Additionally, a recent appeals court ruling held that drawing a person's blood without a warrant is a violation of a person's Fourth Amendment rights, highlighting the need for legislative changes. C.S.H.B. 460 seeks to address this issue.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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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.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 460 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to authorize an officer seeking a search warrant for the collection of a blood specimen from a person suspected of committing certain intoxication offenses to obtain the search warrant from a magistrate with jurisdiction in the county in which the suspect was stopped or from a magistrate with jurisdiction in a county contiguous to the county in which the suspect was stopped, provided that the officer attempted and was unable to obtain a warrant from a magistrate serving a criminal court in the county in which the suspect was stopped. The bill authorizes the search warrant issued by a magistrate with jurisdiction in the contiguous county to be executed in the contiguous county in which the suspect was stopped regardless of whether the issuing court's jurisdiction extends outside the county in which the suspect was stopped.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2015.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 460 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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