HBA-MSH H.B. 1536 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1536
By: Coleman
Civil Practices
3/7/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law a person who is wrongfully imprisoned is entitled to a
maximum of $50,000 in total compensation.  No adjustments have been made to
the amount of the total maximum compensation since this provision was
enacted.  As a result, the amount of compensation does not appropriately
reflect the amount of time a person has been wrongfully imprisoned.  House
Bill 1536 amends provisions relating to compensation to provide that a
claimant to entitled to $20,000 for each year of wrongful imprisonment and
removes the requirement that a person must have plead "not guilty" to the
crime to be eligible to receive compensation. 

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 1536 amends the Civil Practice and Remedies Code to remove the
provision that requires a person to have plead "not guilty" to the charge
for which the person was sentenced to be entitled to compensation for being
wrongly imprisoned.  The bill provides that a person wrongfully imprisoned
is entitled to $20,000 for each full year that the person was wrongfully
imprisoned, prorated for each part of a year the person was imprisoned and
adjusted for inflation.  The bill sets forth provisions regarding the
annual computation of the multiplier to be used to adjust such damages.
The bill deletes provisions relating to monetary damages for physical and
mental pain and suffering. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.