HBA-AMW C.S.H.B. 2063 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2063 By: Tillery Criminal Jurisprudence 4/24/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law provides explicit charges for a court to instruct a jury in the penalty phase for certain felonies. Although a judge is required to deliver to the jury a written charge directly setting forth the law applicable to the case before argument begins, current law does not provide explicit instructions for the court to charge the jury before arguments begin in each misdemeanor or felony case. C.S.H.B. 2063 sets forth language for the court's charge to the jury in each misdemeanor or felony trial and in each misdemeanor or felony trial in which the state relies on circumstantial evidence. 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. 2063 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to set forth language for the court's charge to the jury in each misdemeanor or felony trial and in each misdemeanor or felony trial in which the state relies on circumstantial evidence. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2063 modifies the original bill to conform to Texas Legislative Council style and format. The substitute differs from the original bill by clarifying that the charge for each misdemeanor or felony trial is to be included in the instructions that a court is required to charge the jury in a misdemeanor or felony trial in which the state relies on circumstantial evidence. The substitute modifies the original bill by replacing all references to "defendant" with "accused person." The substitute also modifies the original bill by moving the provisions of the bill from the chapter in the Code of Criminal Procedure regarding the verdict in a trial to the chapter regarding the trial before the jury.