| 1 | 1 | | 81R311 UM-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: West S.B. No. 228 |
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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 an offense committed against a homeless person because |
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| 8 | 8 | | of bias or prejudice. |
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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. Articles 42.014(a) and (c), Code of Criminal |
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| 11 | 11 | | Procedure, are amended to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a) In the trial of an offense under Title 5, Penal Code, or |
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| 13 | 13 | | Section 28.02, 28.03, or 28.08, Penal Code, the judge shall make an |
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| 14 | 14 | | affirmative finding of fact and enter the affirmative finding in |
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| 15 | 15 | | the judgment of the case if at the guilt or innocence phase of the |
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| 16 | 16 | | trial, the judge or the jury, whichever is the trier of fact, |
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| 17 | 17 | | determines beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant |
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| 18 | 18 | | intentionally selected the person against whom the offense was |
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| 19 | 19 | | committed or intentionally selected property damaged or affected as |
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| 20 | 20 | | a result of the offense because of the defendant's bias or prejudice |
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| 21 | 21 | | against a group identified by race, color, disability, religion, |
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| 22 | 22 | | national origin or ancestry, age, gender, [or] sexual preference, |
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| 23 | 23 | | or homelessness. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (c) In this article: |
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| 25 | 25 | | (1) "Homelessness": |
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| 26 | 26 | | (A) means a condition under which an individual: |
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| 27 | 27 | | (i) lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate |
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| 28 | 28 | | nighttime residence; or |
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| 29 | 29 | | (ii) has a primary nighttime residence that |
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| 30 | 30 | | is: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (a) a supervised publicly or |
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| 32 | 32 | | privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living |
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| 33 | 33 | | accommodations, including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and |
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| 34 | 34 | | transitional housing for the mentally ill; |
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| 35 | 35 | | (b) an institution that provides a |
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| 36 | 36 | | temporary residence for individuals intended to be |
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| 37 | 37 | | institutionalized; or |
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| 38 | 38 | | (c) a public or private place not |
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| 39 | 39 | | designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping |
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| 40 | 40 | | accommodation for human beings; and |
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| 41 | 41 | | (B) does not include a condition under which an |
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| 42 | 42 | | individual is imprisoned or otherwise detained in a correctional |
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| 43 | 43 | | facility. |
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| 44 | 44 | | (2) "Sexual [, "sexual] preference" has the following |
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| 45 | 45 | | meaning only: a preference for heterosexuality, homosexuality, or |
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| 46 | 46 | | bisexuality. |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 48 | 48 | | to an offense committed on or after September 1, 2009. An offense |
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| 49 | 49 | | committed before September 1, 2009, is governed by the law in effect |
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| 50 | 50 | | when the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in |
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| 51 | 51 | | effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense |
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| 52 | 52 | | was committed before September 1, 2009, if any element of the |
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| 53 | 53 | | offense occurred before that date. |
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| 54 | 54 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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