HBA-EDN H.B. 1963 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1963
By: Hochberg
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/17/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, punishment for computer crimes is defined by the amount
of loss incurred by a victim or the amount of expenditure required by the
victim to verify that a computer was not altered, acquired, damaged,
deleted or disrupted by the offense.  If damages or losses incurred because
of one scheme or continuing course of conduct were aggregated, it would
allow for the prosecution of multiple violations to multiple victims when
those multiple violations are part of one continuing course of conduct.
House Bill 1963 authorizes the aggregation of damages or losses incurred. 

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 1963 amends the Penal Code to provide that for an act
constituting breach of computer security in which benefits are obtained, a
victim is defrauded or harmed, or property is altered, damaged, or deleted,
the bill authorizes the conduct to be considered as one offense and the
value of the benefits obtained and of the losses incurred to be aggregated
in determining the grade of such an offense. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.