HBA-NMO H.B. 3648 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3648
By: Yarbrough
Criminal Jurisprudence
3/31/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law provides that the criminal penalty for evading arrest or
detention is a Class B misdemeanor unless:  the actor uses a vehicle in
flight; the actor uses a vehicle in flight and has been previously
convicted for evading arrest or detention; serious injury results directly
from the attempt to apprehend the actor; or death results directly from the
attempt to apprehend the actor; in which cases the offense is punishable by
a Class A misdemeanor, a state jail felony, a third-degree felony, or a
first-degree felony, respectively.  Increasing the penalties associated
with flight by vehicle may decrease the frequency of this crime.  H.B. 3648
increases the penalty for using a vehicle in evading arrest or detention to
a state jail felony and progressively increases the other three associated
felony offenses.               

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 38.04(b), Penal Code, to provide that the Class
B misdemeanor offense  of evading arrest or detention is increased to:  

(1) a state jail felony, rather than a Class A misdemeanor, if the actor
uses a vehicle while the actor is in flight and the actor has not been
previously convicted under this section;  

(2) a felony of the third degree, rather than a state jail felony, if the
actor uses a vehicle while the actor is in flight and the actor has been
previously convicted under this section;  

(3) a felony of the second degree, rather than third degree, if another
suffers serious injury as a direct result of an attempt by the officer from
whom the actor is fleeing to apprehend the actor while the actor is in
flight;  

(4) or a felony of the first degree, rather than second degree, if another
suffers death as a direct result of an attempt by the officer from whom the
actor is fleeing to apprehend the actor while the actor is in flight. 

SECTION 2.  Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.