BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3061

By: Oliverson

Criminal Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that protesters and rioters in recent years have committed crimes while wearing masks with the intention of hiding their identities. The bill author has additionally informed the committee that masking can make it difficult for law enforcement agencies to identify criminals, especially when they are gathered in large groups, and that there is a need to ensure that individuals who engage in violent or destructive behavior cannot use disguises as a shield from justice. The bill author has further informed the committee that criminals who conceal their faces pose a greater threat to public safety, as anonymity can embolden them to commit more brazen acts of vandalism, assault, and robbery without fear of consequence. H.B. 3061 seeks to address these issues by enhancing the punishment for certain criminal offenses when the perpetrator is disguised or masked to conceal their identity and is congregating with others who are also disguised or masked.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill expressly does one or more of the following: creates a criminal offense, increases the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or changes 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. 3061 amends the Penal Code to enhance the punishment for an offense against the person, arson, criminal mischief, other property damage or destruction, robbery, burglary, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, and participation in a riot to the punishment prescribed for the next higher category of offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that, during the commission of the offense, the actor was doing the following:

· disguised or masked in such a manner as to hide the actor's identity or make the actor's identity difficult to determine and for the purpose of concealing the actor's identity; and

· congregating with other individuals who were disguised or masked.

If the offense is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor, the minimum term of confinement for that offense is increased to 180 days. The bill prohibits the punishment increase of an offense punishable as a first degree felony under the bill's provisions.

H.B. 3061 authorizes the defendant, at the punishment stage of a trial in which the state's attorney seeks an increase in punishment under the bill's provisions, to raise the issue as to whether the purpose of wearing the disguise or mask was for Halloween, a masquerade ball, or a similar celebration. The bill makes that increase in punishment inapplicable if the defendant proves the issue in the affirmative by a preponderance of the evidence. The bill defines "disguised or masked" for these purposes as using artificial methods of rendering identification impossible or more difficult than in the absence of these methods.

H.B. 3061 applies only to an offense committed on or after the bill's effective date. An offense committed before the bill's effective date is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For these purposes, an offense was committed before the bill's effective date if any element of the offense occurred before that date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.