HBA-EDN S.B. 1313 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1313 By: Staples Criminal Jurisprudence 5/7/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, there is a loophole in state law that does not allow for the prosecution of an individual who observes the commission of a felony but fails to report it to a peace officer or a law enforcement agency. Senate Bill 1313 provides that the failure to report the commission of certain felony offenses which may result in serious bodily injury or death is a Class A misdemeanor. 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 Senate Bill 1313 amends the Penal Code to provide that a person commits a Class A misdemeanor if the actor: _observes the commission of a felony under circumstances in which a reasonable person would believe that an offense of a serious nature had been committed in which serious bodily injury or death may have resulted; _fails to immediately report the commission of the offense to a peace officer or law enforcement agency and a reasonable person would believe that the commission of the offense had not been reported; and _could immediately report the commission of the offense without placing the actor in danger of suffering serious bodily injury or death. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.