BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3905

By: Goodwin

County Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been noted that county park rangers have the authority to issue citations for violations of state law that occur within the boundaries of a county park but that, in the majority of the state, these rangers cannot issue citations for violations of a county park use rule. H.B. 3905 seeks to address this issue in order to help keep county parks safe, clean, and enjoyable for visitors by extending the authority of certain counties to adopt park use rules whose violation constitutes a Class C misdemeanor offense to certain other counties.

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. 3905 amends the Local Government Code to decrease from 2.8 million to one million the minimum population threshold of a county for which a board of park commissioners may, subject to the commissioners court's approval, adopt reasonable rules concerning the use of any board-administered park a violation of which is a Class C misdemeanor offense.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.