| 1 | 1 | | 81R9965 JRH-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Vo H.B. No. 1813 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the punishment for tampering with certain governmental |
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| 8 | 8 | | records concerning forensic analyses. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 37.10(c)(2), Penal Code, is amended to |
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| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (2) An offense under this section is a felony of the |
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| 13 | 13 | | third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the |
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| 14 | 14 | | governmental record was: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (A) a public school record, report, or assessment |
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| 16 | 16 | | instrument required under Chapter 39, Education Code, or was a |
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| 17 | 17 | | license, certificate, permit, seal, title, letter of patent, or |
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| 18 | 18 | | similar document issued by government, by another state, or by the |
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| 19 | 19 | | United States, unless the actor's intent is to defraud or harm |
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| 20 | 20 | | another, in which event the offense is a felony of the second |
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| 21 | 21 | | degree; |
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| 22 | 22 | | (B) a written report of a medical, chemical, |
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| 23 | 23 | | toxicological, ballistic, or other expert examination or test |
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| 24 | 24 | | performed on physical evidence for the purpose of determining the |
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| 25 | 25 | | connection or relevance of the evidence to a criminal action; or |
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| 26 | 26 | | (C) a written report of the certification, |
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| 27 | 27 | | inspection, or maintenance record of an instrument, apparatus, |
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| 28 | 28 | | implement, machine, or other similar device used in the course of an |
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| 29 | 29 | | examination or test performed on physical evidence for the purpose |
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| 30 | 30 | | of determining the connection or relevance of the evidence to a |
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| 31 | 31 | | criminal action. |
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| 32 | 32 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 33 | 33 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 34 | 34 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 35 | 35 | | governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and |
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| 36 | 36 | | the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 37 | 37 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 38 | 38 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 39 | 39 | | before that date. |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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