BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 1872 |
By: Murphy |
Urban Affairs |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties are concerned that certain municipalities may not have the tools necessary to adequately regulate where registered sex offenders may reside, potentially making such municipalities more susceptible to an influx of sex offenders. C.S.H.B. 1872 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. 1872 amends the Local Government Code to authorize the governing body of a general-law municipality to restrict by ordinance a registered sex offender from going in, on, or within a specified distance, but not more than 1,000 feet, of a child safety zone in the municipality, excluding a church. The bill establishes an affirmative defense to prosecution for an offense under the ordinance that the registered sex offender was in, on, or within a specified distance of a child safety zone for a legitimate purpose, including transportation of a child that the registered sex offender is legally permitted to be with, transportation to and from work, and other work-related purposes. The bill authorizes the ordinance to establish procedures for a registered sex offender to apply for and receive an exemption from the ordinance. The bill requires the ordinance to exempt a registered sex offender who established residency in a residence located within the specified distance of a child safety zone before the date the ordinance is adopted and limits the applicability of such an exemption to areas necessary for the registered sex offender to have access to and to live in the residence and to the period the registered sex offender maintains residency in the residence.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2015.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 1872 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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