Legislative Update: Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
In this week’s article, I want to follow up and give an update on this important legislative session that is well underway. March 13th marked the legislative filing deadline to file bills for the 84th Legislative Session. As your elected representative, I want to take this opportunity to feature some of the pieces of legislation that have been introduced and have come before committees that I serve on for this current legislative session. It is important to note, however, that while the bill filing deadline has passed, this does not mean that the dialogue has been finalized. House and Senate committees are hearing many bills and the next stage of the legislative session is in progress. Below, I have listed some of the bills that were recently before the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence.
• HB 273: Relating to the minimum term of confinement for an offense of illegal dumping in a municipality.
• HB 511: Relating to the prosecution of certain offenses committed against a person in custody.
• HB 563: Relating to the prosecution of and punishment for the offense of official oppression.
• HB 597: Relating to the designation for criminal prosecution and other purposes of certain chemicals commonly referred to as synthetic cannabinoids as controlled substances and controlled substance analogues under the Texas Controlled Substances Act.
• HB 1076: Relating to the authority of a magistrate to prohibit certain communications in an order for emergency protection.
• HB 1293: Relating to the confidentiality of identifying information of victims of stalking; creating a criminal offense.
• HB 1503: Relating to the rights of certain defendants who successfully complete a term of community supervision.
• HB 2185: Relating to the execution of a search warrant for taking a DNA specimen.
• HB 2263: Relating to warrants or orders issued to obtain location information from wireless communications devices and to public access to law enforcement or prosecutor requests for certain related location or communication information.
• HB 2525: Relating to the appointment of counsel to represent indigent defendants in criminal cases.
I will plan to do updates on bills being considered. This will give some information on what potential laws are being reviewed.
If you would like to follow the Texas House and learn more information on news, committees or other aspects of the legislative body, you can access its website at Texas House of Representatives. The site features live streaming from the House floor, committee hearings as well as access to a number of other resources. You can also follow the The Texas Senate. The Texas Governor’s official website can be found at Office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott. For important information regarding transportation in the state, feel free to visit Texas Department of Transportation. Also you can visit The Texas General Land Office, and the Texas Railroad Commission.
As a reminder, the 84th Texas Legislative Session is currently underway. As always, I want to hear your ideas and suggestion. Your ideas and information are important forms of feedback and I hope that you will not hesitate to contact my office.
If you have questions regarding any of the information mentioned in this week’s article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. Please always feel free to contact my office if you have any questions or issues regarding a Texas state agency, or if you would like to contact my office regarding constituent services. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).
– State Representative Todd Hunter, District 32
Rep. Hunter represents Nueces (Part) County. He can be contacted at todd.hunter@house.state.tx.us or at 512-463-0672.
