HBA-SEP H.B. 58 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 58 By: Cuellar Criminal Jurisprudence 4/10/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law does not provide for an increase of punishment for a person whose criminal responsibility is based on the conduct of another person who is nonresponsible due to age. Increasing the penalty may decrease such occurrences. House Bill 58 provides this increase. 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 58 amends the Penal Code to increase the punishment of a person whose criminal responsibility is based on the conduct of another person who is nonresponsible due to age. The bill provides that for an offense other than a Class A misdemeanor or a first degree felony, the punishment is increased to the punishment prescribed for the next highest category of offense. If the offense is a Class A misdemeanor, the minimum term of confinement for the offense is increased to 180 days. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.