BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 4045

By: Faircloth

Criminal Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, if a county does not have a judge of a municipal court of record who is an attorney licensed by the state, a county court judge who is an attorney licensed by the state, or a statutory county court judge, any magistrate may issue a search warrant for certain property or contraband under certain conditions. Issues can arise when the applicable municipal court of record for a county, such as Chambers County, is actually located in a different county, as this may put the county in a position to either forgo search warrants or make future arrangements to obtain search warrants subject to the availability of the neighboring county. H.B. 4045 seeks to clarify this issue.

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.

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

H.B. 4045 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to change one of the circumstances under which any magistrate is authorized to issue a search warrant for contraband subject to forfeiture or certain property or items constituting evidence of an offense or constituting evidence tending to show that a particular person committed an offense from the county not having a judge of a municipal court of record who is an attorney licensed by the state to the county not having a municipal court of record with a courtroom located in that county and a judge who is an attorney licensed by the state.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2015.