HBA-EDN H.B. 1395 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1395 By: Talton Criminal Jurisprudence 4/12/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, a peace officer is authorized, without warrant, to pursue and arrest a person if it is shown by satisfactory proof to the peace officer that a felony has been committed by the person and that the person may potentially escape if the time is taken to procure a warrant. Consequently, it is possible for a peace officer to not be able to detain a person without first securing a probable cause warrant even if the person makes a voluntary confession to a crime. This process may take several hours, but making an arrest without a warrant, even after confession, risks any additional evidence being thrown out of court. Thus, a peace officer would have to request that a suspect wait until the necessary paperwork is obtained or follow the suspect to ensure that the suspect does not escape. Authorizing a peace officer to make an arrest of a person who makes a voluntary confession to a felony would remedy this situation without jeopardizing any of the constitutional safeguards with respect to a suspect. House Bill 1395 authorizes a peace officer, without warrant, to arrest a person if the person makes a statement voluntarily to the officer that establishes probable cause. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 1395 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to authorize a peace officer, without warrant, to arrest a person when the person makes a statement to a peace officer that establishes probable cause to believe that the person has committed a felony if the statement was made freely and voluntarily without compulsion or persuasion. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.