81R311 UM-D
By: West S.B. No. 228
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an offense committed against a homeless person because
of bias or prejudice.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Articles 42.014(a) and (c), Code of Criminal
Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
(a) In the trial of an offense under Title 5, Penal Code, or
Section 28.02, 28.03, or 28.08, Penal Code, the judge shall make an
affirmative finding of fact and enter the affirmative finding in
the judgment of the case if at the guilt or innocence phase of the
trial, the judge or the jury, whichever is the trier of fact,
determines beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant
intentionally selected the person against whom the offense was
committed or intentionally selected property damaged or affected as
a result of the offense because of the defendant's bias or prejudice
against a group identified by race, color, disability, religion,
national origin or ancestry, age, gender, [or] sexual preference,
or homelessness.
(c) In this article:
(1) "Homelessness":
(A) means a condition under which an individual:
(i) lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate
nighttime residence; or
(ii) has a primary nighttime residence that
is:
(a) a supervised publicly or
privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living
accommodations, including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and
transitional housing for the mentally ill;
(b) an institution that provides a
temporary residence for individuals intended to be
institutionalized; or
(c) a public or private place not
designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping
accommodation for human beings; and
(B) does not include a condition under which an
individual is imprisoned or otherwise detained in a correctional
facility.
(2) "Sexual [, "sexual] preference" has the following
meaning only: a preference for heterosexuality, homosexuality, or
bisexuality.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after September 1, 2009. An offense
committed before September 1, 2009, is governed 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 September 1, 2009, if any element of the
offense occurred before that date.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.