BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2235

By: Thompson, Senfronia

Appropriations

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that the cap on the amount of money that may be allocated to the judicial fund for programs that provide basic civil legal services to low-income Texans is too low. C.S.H.B. 2235 seeks to raise the cap on those allocations from $50 million per state fiscal biennium to $50 million per state fiscal year.

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

C.S.H.B. 2235 amends the Government Code to change the maximum total allocation from certain money received by the attorney general to the judicial fund for programs approved by the supreme court that provide basic civil legal services to the indigent from $50 million per state fiscal biennium to $50 million per state fiscal year.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 2235 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute changes the effective date of the bill.