H.B. No. 1721
AN ACT
relating to protective orders for certain victims of stalking or
sexual assault.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 6, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 6.09 to read as follows:
Art. 6.09. STALKING PROTECTIVE ORDER. (a) At any
proceeding related to an offense under Section 42.072, Penal Code,
in which the defendant appears before the court, a person may
request the court to render a protective order under Title 4, Family
Code, for the protection of the person. The request is made by
filing "An Application for a Protective Order" in the same manner as
an application for a protective order under Title 4, Family Code.
(b) The court shall render a protective order in the manner
provided by Title 4, Family Code, if, in lieu of the finding that
family violence occurred and is likely to occur in the future as
required by Section 85.001, Family Code, the court finds that
probable cause exists to believe that an offense under Section
42.072, Penal Code, occurred and that the nature of the scheme or
course of conduct engaged in by the defendant in the commission of
the offense indicates that the defendant is likely to engage in the
future in conduct prohibited by Section 42.072(a)(1), (2), or (3),
Penal Code.
(c) The procedure for the enforcement of a protective order
under Title 4, Family Code, applies to the fullest extent
practicable to the enforcement of a protective order under this
article, including provisions relating to findings, contents,
duration, warning, delivery, law enforcement duties, and
modification.
SECTION 2. Chapter 7A, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 7A.035 to read as follows:
Art. 7A.035. HEARSAY STATEMENT OF CHILD VICTIM. In a
hearing on an application for a protective order under this
chapter, a statement that is made by a child younger than 14 years
of age who is the victim of an offense under Section 21.02, 21.11,
22.011, or 22.021, Penal Code, and that describes the offense
committed against the child is admissible as evidence in the same
manner that a child's statement regarding alleged abuse against the
child is admissible under Section 104.006, Family Code, in a suit
affecting the parent-child relationship.
SECTION 3. (a) Article 6.09, Code of Criminal Procedure,
as added by this Act, applies to the commission of an offense under
Section 42.072, Penal Code, without regard to whether the offense
was committed before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) Article 7A.035, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by
this Act, applies only to a hearing on an application for a
protective order that is commenced on or after the effective date of
this Act. A hearing on an application for a protective order that
is commenced before the effective date of this Act is governed by
the law in effect on the date the hearing was commenced, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1721 was passed by the House on April
26, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 148, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1721 was passed by the Senate on May
25, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0
.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor