HBA-RBT, PDH H.B. 779 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 779 By: Thompson Criminal Jurisprudence 4/26/1999 Committee Report (Amended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, a judge can discharge $50 of a defendant's fines and court costs for each eight hours of community service performed, while a defendant serving time in jail is given a $50 credit for each day served and an additional $50 credit per day if the defendant performs manual labor. H.B. 779 allows a judge to discharge $100 per day for each 8 hours of community service performed, thus providing an incentive to defendants to choose community service over incarceration, which saves taxpayers the costs of housing inmates. 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 Article 45.521(e), Code of Criminal Procedure, by increasing from $50 to $100 the amount of fines or costs a defendant is considered to have discharged for each eight hours of community service performed under this article. SECTION 2.Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage. EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS Committee Amendment No. 1. Adds a new SECTION 1, which amends Article 43.09(k), Code of Criminal Procedure, to provide that a defendant is considered to have discharged $100, rather than $50, of fines or costs for each eight hours of community service performed. SECTIONS 1-3 are redesignated as SECTIONS 2-4.