HBA-BSM, SEP C.S.H.B. 258 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 258 By: Christian Criminal Jurisprudence 4/18/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, intentional hindering of an official proceeding is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor, and physical or verbal disruption of a lawful meeting, procession, or gathering is punishable as a Class B misdemeanor. During the James Byrd, Jr. murder trial, local law enforcement groups were impeded in handling groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and Black Panthers who were displaying loaded automatic weapons because the law is unclear. C.S.H.B. 258 clarifies the issue by making it a state jail felony if a person intentionally hinders an official proceeding or disrupts a lawful meeting, procession, or gathering by display of a deadly weapon in plain view. 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 C.S.H.B. 258 amends the Penal Code to provide that it is a state jail felony if a person intentionally hinders an official proceeding or prevents or disrupts a lawful meeting, procession, or gathering by display of a deadly weapon in plain view. The bill also provides that it is a state jail felony if, after receiving an explicit official request to desist, the person continues to recklessly hinder an official proceeding by display of a deadly weapon in plain view. The bill authorizes a peace officer or other individual with authority to control the proceeding, meeting, procession, or gathering to order an actor who participates in, attends, or appears at or in the immediate vicinity of an official proceeding, meeting, procession, or gathering to leave the immediate vicinity and not return with the deadly weapon. The bill further provides that an actor who receives an order and refuses to leave or returns with a deadly weapon is presumed to intend to prevent or disrupt the proceeding, meeting, procession, or gathering. This provision does not prevent an attorney representing the state from establishing intent by direct evidence. It is a defense to prosecution that the actor is a public servant lawfully discharging an official duty or the actor reasonably believes that the actor is acting with express permission of a peace officer or other individual with authority to control the meeting. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 258 modifies the original to provide that it is a defense to prosecution that an actor, who intentionally hinders an official proceeding or prevents or disrupts a lawful meeting, procession, or gathering by display of a deadly weapon in plain view, is a public servant lawfully discharging an official duty or the actor reasonably believes that the actor is acting with express permission of a peace officer or other individual with authority to control the meeting.