By: Whitmire S.B. No. 1531
(In the Senate - Filed March 9, 2009; March 17, 2009, read
first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
April 28, 2009, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 7,
Nays 0; April 28, 2009, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the definition of a playground for purposes of certain
places protected from certain criminal activities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subdivision (3), Subsection (a), Section
481.134, Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
(3) "Playground" means any outdoor facility that is
not on the premises of a school and that:
(A) is intended for recreation;
(B) is open to the public; and
(C) contains three or more play stations
[separate apparatus] intended for the recreation of children, such
as slides, swing sets, and teeterboards.
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 was committed before that
date.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
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