Texas Punishment Standards Commission

The Texas Punishment Standards Commission was established by House Bill 92, 72nd Legislature, Second Called Session, 1991 (Article 37.15, Code of Criminal Procedure) to rewrite the Texas Penal Code. The Commission was a 25 member study group, 10 of whom were appointed by Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock and House Speaker Gib Lewis, while the remaining 15 were appointed at large by Governor Ann Richards. Texas State Senator Ted Lyon and State Representative Allen Hightower were appointed the Co-Chairs of the Commission, and Carl Reynolds was brought on as the staff director. The Commission's first meeting was held on December 10, 1991.

By statute, the commission was to study the punishments prescribed for criminal offenses in Texas, sentencing practices in criminal courts, costs relating to prison construction, and the effect of jail and prison overcrowding and lenient parole laws on the sentences actually served by defendants convicted of criminal offenses. After completing the study, the commission was to propose legislation and make recommendations on criminal sentencing, corrections, and the budgetary resources committed to those issues.

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