HBA-PDH H.B. 966 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 966
By: Alexander
Criminal Jurisprudence
3/19/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law requires a judge, as a condition of granting community
supervision to a person convicted for the second time of driving while
intoxicated (DWI), to require the person to serve at least three days of
confinement in the county jail, and a person convicted of DWI three or more
times to serve at least 10 days in the county jail.  Additionally, the law
requires that a person convicted of intoxication assault serve at least 30
days of confinement in the county jail as a condition of community
supervision. The law, however, does not require these jail sentences to be
served continuously.  For example, a person could fulfill the required jail
time on weekends.  H.B. 966 provides that these sentences are to be served
continuously, and clarifies that a person convicted for the second time of
DWI must serve at least 72 continuous hours, rather than three days, of
confinement.    

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 Sections 13(a) and (b), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal
Procedure, to provide that as a condition of community supervision, a
defendant convicted of an offense under Chapter 49 (Intoxication and
Alcoholic Beverage Offenses), Penal Code, serve 72 hours of continuous
confinement, rather than three days of confinement, if the defendant was
punished under Section 49.09(a) (Enhanced Offenses and Penalties) and that
a defendant serve continuous confinement for a specified number of days for
an offense under Sections 49.09(b) (Enhanced Offenses and Penalties), 49.07
(Intoxication Assault), and 49.08 (Intoxication Manslaughter), Penal Code. 

SECTION 2.  Makes application of this Act prospective.  Provides that an
offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element
of the offense occurred before that date. 

SECTION 3.Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 4.Emergency clause.