HBA-JLV H.B. 2740 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2740
By: Turner, Bob
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/4/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law authorizes the criminal justice division of the governor's
office (CJD) to distribute money to eligible counties for the reimbursement
of extraordinary costs incurred in the investigation and prosecution of
capital murder cases.  In rural counties, a capital murder trial and the
automatic appeal that a conviction brings could put a significant strain on
the county budget and perhaps even contribute to a county seeking a lesser
charge against a defendant despite the prosecutor's belief that a charge of
capital murder is warranted.  Despite efforts by CJD to publicize the
reimbursement program, only five counties applied for funding last year.
There are concerns that the law authorizing the distribution of money to
counties investigating capital murder cases is complicated and difficult to
interpret and counties may have difficulty determining whether they are
eligible for the funds.  House Bill 2740 clarifies provisions relating to
the distribution of money to eligible counties for the payment of
extraordinary costs of prosecution for capital murder cases. 

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 2740 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to authorize the
criminal justice division of the governor's office (CJD) to distribute
money appropriated by the legislature to counties for extraordinary
expenses incurred for the investigation or prosecution of capital murder
offenses (reimbursement program). The bill deletes eligibility provisions
of the reimbursement program requiring a county to apply to CJD for the
distribution of  funds if: 

_the total amount of expenditures of the county exceeded the total amount
of funds received by the county from all sources; or 

 _the total amount of funds received by the county from all sources
exceeded the total amount of expenditures of the county and the county
incurred expenses for the investigation or prosecution of a capital murder
offense that exceed five percent of the amount of that excess. 

The bill deletes provisions requiring the commissioners court of a county
to submit a financial statement of the county for that fiscal year showing
the total amount of funds received by the county, the total amount of
expenditures of the county, and the total amount of expenses incurred by
the county for the investigation or prosecution of a capital murder
offense. 

The bill authorizes CJD to distribute money only to a county for the
reimbursement of expenses incurred by the county during the immediate past
or current fiscal year for the investigation or prosecution of a capital
murder offense.   

 The bill deletes the prohibition against the amount of the reimbursement
to an eligible county exceeding an amount equal to five percent of the
difference between the total amount of funds received by the county and the
total amount of expenditures of the county during the fiscal year for which
the application is made. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.