HBA-RBT H.B. 1619 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1619 By: Dutton Criminal Jurisprudence 3/1/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, an inmate serving a life sentence for a capital felony is eligible for release on parole after serving 40 calendar years. H.B. 1619 provides that an inmate serving a life sentence is ineligible for release on parole or mandatory supervision. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 508.046, Government Code, to remove a capital felony from the list of offenses for which an inmate may be paroled after serving 35 years. SECTION 2. Amends Section 508.145(b), Government Code, to remove from eligibility for parole an inmate serving a life sentence for a capital felony. SECTION 3. Amends Section 2, Article 37.071, Code of Criminal Procedure, to require the court to charge the jury that if the jury returns a finding that a sentence of life imprisonment is warranted, the court will sentence the defendant to life in prison. Requires the court to further charge the jury that the defendant will be ineligible for release on parole or mandatory supervision. SECTION 4. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 5. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 6. Emergency clause.