BILL ANALYSIS
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Senate Research Center |
C.S.H.B. 4843 |
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88R30529 EAS-F |
By: Holland et al. (Huffman) |
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State Affairs |
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5/19/2023 |
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Committee Report (Substituted) |
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
C.S.H.B. 4843 amends current law relating to increasing the minimum term of imprisonment and changing the eligibility for community supervision and parole for certain felony offenses in which a firearm is used or exhibited, to certain consequences on conviction of certain of those offenses, and to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Penal Code, by adding Section 12.502, as follows:
Sec. 12.502. PENALTY FOR CERTAIN FELONY OFFENSES COMMITTED WITH FIREARM.� (a) Provides that the minimum term of imprisonment for a first, second, or third degree felony listed in Article 42A.054(a) (relating to the limitation on judge-ordered community supervision for certain offenses), Code of Criminal Procedure, is increased to 10 years if an affirmative finding has been entered in the judgment in the case under Article 42A.054(d) (relating to providing that on an affirmative finding that the deadly weapon under a certain subsection was a firearm, a court is required to enter such finding in its judgment), Code of Criminal Procedure.
(b) Provides that Subsection (a) does not apply to a felony offense for which the punishment otherwise required by law includes a minimum term of imprisonment that exceeds 10 years.
SECTION 2. Amends Section 46.04(e), Penal Code, to provide that an offense under Subsection (a) (relating to the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon) is a felony of the second, rather than third, degree.
SECTION 3. Amends Article 42.08, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding Subsection (b-1), as follows:
(b-1) Requires a judge sentencing a defendant convicted of an offense that was committed while on community supervision granted under Article 42A.055 (Jury-Recommended Community Supervision) and for which the minimum term of imprisonment was increased under Section 12.502, Penal Code, to order the sentence for the offense to commence immediately on completion of the sentence for the offense for which the defendant was placed on community supervision.
SECTION 4. Amends Article 42A.055, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding Subsection (c-1), as follows:
(c-1) Requires the judge, if the jury recommends to the judge that the judge place the defendant on community supervision for an offense for which the minimum term of imprisonment for the offense is increased under Section 12.502, Penal Code, to place the defendant on community supervision for a period of 10 years.
SECTION 5. Amends Article 42A.102(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, as follows:
(b) Authorizes the judge, in all other cases, to grant deferred adjudication community supervision unless:
(1) the defendant is charged with an offense:
(A)-(C) makes no changes to these subsections;
(D) makes a nonsubstantive change to this subdivision;
(E) that is punishable as a first, second, or third degree felony listed in Article 42A.054(a), if the judge finds that a firearm was used or exhibited during the commission of the offense or during the immediate flight from the commission of the offense; or
(F) creates this paragraph from existing text; or
(2)-(4) makes no changes to these subdivisions.
SECTION 6. Amends Section 508.145(d)(2), Government Code, as follows:
(2) Provides that an inmate described by Subdivision (1) (relating to an inmate serving a sentence for certain offenses) is not eligible for release on parole until the inmate's actual calendar time served, without consideration of good conduct time, equals one-half of the sentence or 30 calendar years, whichever is less, but in no event is the inmate eligible for release on parole in less than:
(A) 10 calendar years, for an inmate serving a sentence for an offense for which the minimum term of imprisonment was increased under Section 12.502, Penal Code; or
(B) two calendar years, for an inmate serving a sentence for any other offense to which this subsection applies.
SECTION 7. Makes application of this Act prospective.
SECTION 8. Effective date: September 1, 2023.