BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.S.B. 920 |
By: Whitmire |
Business & Industry |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties contend that the authorization to apply for a writ to enter a residence and retrieve specific items of personal property while accompanied by a peace officer should be extended to those unable to enter a residence because the current occupant poses a clear and present danger of family violence to the applicant or the applicant's dependent. C.S.S.B. 920 seeks to offer protection for those at risk of family violence when retrieving property by providing for such extension.
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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.S.B. 920 amends the Property Code to add, as an alternative to the requirement that an application for a writ to authorize the applicant to enter a residence and retrieve specific items of personal property accompanied by a peace officer certify the applicant's inability to enter the residence because the current occupant of the residence has denied the applicant access to the residence, that the application certify the applicant's inability to enter the residence because the current occupant poses a clear and present danger of family violence to the applicant or the applicant's dependent. The bill removes the condition that an applicant's dependent who requires certain personal items located in the residence be a minor in order to meet application requirements and includes copies of electronic records containing legal or financial documents among the items that the applicant or the applicant's dependent may retrieve under a writ.
C.S.S.B. 920 authorizes a justice of the peace to issue such a writ for entry and property retrieval without providing to the current occupant notice and opportunity to be heard if the justice finds at a hearing on the application that certain conditions for the writ are established, that the current occupant poses a clear and present danger of family violence to the applicant or the applicant's dependent, and that the personal harm to be suffered by the applicant or the applicant's dependent will be immediate and irreparable if the application is not granted. The bill authorizes a justice of the peace issuing such a writ to waive requirements relating to providing a bond to the court. The bill authorizes the justice of the peace to recess a hearing on a writ application to notify the current occupant by telephone that the current occupant may attend the hearing or bring to the court the personal property listed in the application and requires the justice of the peace to reconvene the hearing before 5 p.m. that day regardless of whether the current occupant attends the hearing or brings the personal property to the court. The bill requires that a temporary ex parte writ state the period, not to exceed five days, during which the writ is valid. The bill extends to an applicant or occupant, as applicable, under a temporary ex parte writ the procedure for a peace officer to assist the applicant in making authorized entry and retrieving items and the procedure for an occupant to make a complaint. The bill expands the conduct that constitutes the offense relating to interfering with a person or peace officer entering a residence and retrieving personal property under the authority of a writ to include interfering with a person or peace officer entering a residence and retrieving personal property under the authority of a temporary ex parte writ.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2017.
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COMPARISON OF SENATE ENGROSSED AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.S.B. 920 may differ from the engrossed in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the engrossed and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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