Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1256 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Carona, et al. S.B. No. 1256
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the prevention and prosecution of, and punishment
7	7	prescribed for engaging in, organized criminal activity in a
8	8	gang-free zone.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 71, Penal Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Sections 71.028 and 71.029 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 71.028. GANG-FREE ZONES. (a) In this section:
13	13	(1) "Institution of higher education," "playground,"
14	14	"premises," "school," "video arcade facility," and "youth center"
15	15	have the meanings assigned by Section 481.134, Health and Safety
16	16	Code.
17	17	(2) "Shopping mall" means an enclosed public walkway
18	18	or hall area that connects retail, service, or professional
19	19	establishments.
20	20	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the punishment
21	21	prescribed for an offense under Section 71.02 is increased to the
22	22	punishment prescribed for the next highest category of offense if
23	23	the actor is 17 years of age or older and it is shown beyond a
24	24	reasonable doubt on the trial of the offense that the actor
25	25	committed the offense at a location that was:
26	26	(1) in, on, or within 1,000 feet of any:
27	27	(A) real property that is owned, rented, or
28	28	leased by a school or school board;
29	29	(B) premises owned, rented, or leased by an
30	30	institution of higher education;
31	31	(C) shopping mall;
32	32	(D) movie theater;
33	33	(E) premises of a public or private youth center;
34	34	or
35	35	(F) playground;
36	36	(2) in, on, or within 300 feet of the premises of a
37	37	public swimming pool or video arcade facility; or
38	38	(3) on a school bus.
39	39	(c) The punishment prescribed for an offense under Section
40	40	71.02 may not be increased under this section if the offense is
41	41	punishable under Section 71.02 as a felony of the first degree.
42	42	Sec. 71.029. MAPS AS EVIDENCE OF LOCATION OR AREA. (a) In
43	43	a prosecution of an offense for which punishment is increased under
44	44	Section 71.028, a map produced or reproduced by a municipal or
45	45	county engineer for the purpose of showing the location and
46	46	boundaries of gang-free zones is admissible in evidence and is
47	47	prima facie evidence of the location or boundaries of those zones if
48	48	the governing body of the municipality or county adopts a
49	49	resolution or ordinance approving the map as an official finding
50	50	and record of the location or boundaries of those zones.
51	51	(b) A municipal or county engineer may, on request of the
52	52	governing body of the municipality or county, revise a map that has
53	53	been approved by the governing body of the municipality or county as
54	54	provided by Subsection (a).
55	55	(c) A municipal or county engineer shall file the original
56	56	or a copy of every approved or revised map approved as provided by
57	57	Subsection (a) with the county clerk of each county in which the
58	58	zone is located.
59	59	(d) This section does not prevent the prosecution from:
60	60	(1) introducing or relying on any other evidence or
61	61	testimony to establish any element of an offense for which
62	62	punishment is increased under Section 71.028; or
63	63	(2) using or introducing any other map or diagram
64	64	otherwise admissible under the Texas Rules of Evidence.
65	65	SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
66	66	amended by adding Section 37.110 to read as follows:
67	67	Sec. 37.110. INFORMATION REGARDING GANG-FREE ZONES. The
68	68	superintendent of each public school district and the administrator
69	69	of each private elementary or secondary school located in the
70	70	public school district shall ensure that the student handbook for
71	71	each campus in the public school district includes information on
72	72	gang-free zones and the consequences of engaging in organized
73	73	criminal activity within those zones.
74	74	SECTION 3. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
75	75	amended by adding Section 51.973 to read as follows:
76	76	Sec. 51.973. INFORMATION REGARDING GANG-FREE ZONES. The
77	77	governing board of each institution of higher education shall
78	78	ensure that any student handbook or similar publication for the
79	79	institution includes information on gang-free zones and the
80	80	consequences of engaging in organized criminal activity within
81	81	those zones.
82	82	SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code,
83	83	is amended by adding Section 42.064 to read as follows:
84	84	Sec. 42.064. INFORMATION REGARDING GANG-FREE ZONES. Each
85	85	day-care center shall, in accordance with rules adopted by the
86	86	executive commissioner, distribute to parents and guardians of
87	87	children who attend the center information on gang-free zones and
88	88	the consequences of engaging in organized criminal activity within
89	89	those zones.
90	90	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act in adding
91	91	Sections 71.028 and 71.029, Penal Code, apply only to an offense
92	92	committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense
93	93	committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
94	94	law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
95	95	continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section,
96	96	an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if
97	97	any element of the offense occurred before that date.
98	98	SECTION 6. The change in law made by this Act in adding
99	99	Section 37.110, Education Code, applies beginning with the public
100	100	school district's 2009-2010 school year.
101	101	SECTION 7. The change in law made by this Act in adding
102	102	Section 51.973, Education Code, applies beginning with the 2009
103	103	fall semester.
104	104	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009, except
105	105	that Sections 37.110 and 51.973, Education Code, and Section
106	106	42.064, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act, take effect
107	107	immediately if this Act receives a vote of two-thirds of all the
108	108	members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article
109	109	III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote
110	110	necessary for immediate effect, those sections of the Education
111	111	Code and Human Resources Code take effect September 1, 2009.