81R9302 JSC-F
By: Gallego H.B. No. 2066
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to enhancing penalties for assaulting a family member by
strangulation or suffocation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 22.01, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b) and (f) and adding Subsections (b-1) and
(g) to read as follows:
(b) An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is a Class A
misdemeanor, except that the offense is a felony of the third degree
if the offense is committed against:
(1) a person the actor knows is a public servant while
the public servant is lawfully discharging an official duty, or in
retaliation or on account of an exercise of official power or
performance of an official duty as a public servant;
(2) a person whose relationship to or association with
the defendant is described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or
71.005, Family Code, if:
(A) it is shown on the trial of the offense that
the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense under
this chapter, Chapter 19, or Section 20.03, 20.04, or 21.11 against
a person whose relationship to or association with the defendant is
described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code; or
(B) the offense is committed by impeding the
normal breathing or circulation of the blood of the person by
applying pressure to the person's throat or neck or by blocking the
person's nose or mouth;
(3) a person who contracts with government to perform
a service in a facility as defined by Section 1.07(a)(14), Penal
Code, or Section 51.02(13) or (14), Family Code, or an employee of
that person:
(A) while the person or employee is engaged in
performing a service within the scope of the contract, if the actor
knows the person or employee is authorized by government to provide
the service; or
(B) in retaliation for or on account of the
person's or employee's performance of a service within the scope of
the contract;
(4) a person the actor knows is a security officer
while the officer is performing a duty as a security officer; or
(5) a person the actor knows is emergency services
personnel while the person is providing emergency services.
(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b)(2), an offense under
Subsection (a)(1) is a felony of the second degree if:
(1) the offense is committed against a person whose
relationship to or association with the defendant is described by
Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code;
(2) it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
defendant has been previously convicted of an offense under this
chapter, Chapter 19, or Section 20.03, 20.04, or 21.11 against a
person whose relationship to or association with the defendant is
described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code;
and
(3) the offense is committed by impeding the normal
breathing or circulation of the blood of the person by applying
pressure to the person's throat or neck or by blocking the person's
nose or mouth.
(f) For the purposes of Subsections (b)(2)(A) and (b-1)(2)
[Subsection (b)(2)]:
(1) a defendant has been previously convicted of an
offense listed in those subsections [Subsection (b)(2)] committed
against a person whose relationship to or association with the
defendant is described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005,
Family Code, if the defendant was adjudged guilty of the offense or
entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in return for a grant of
deferred adjudication, regardless of whether the sentence for the
offense was ever imposed or whether the sentence was probated and
the defendant was subsequently discharged from community
supervision; and
(2) a conviction under the laws of another state for an
offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the
elements of an offense listed in those subsections [Subsection
(b)(2)] is a conviction of the [an] offense listed [in Subsection
(b)(2)].
(g) If conduct constituting an offense under this section
also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the
actor may be prosecuted under either section or both sections.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.