Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB1721 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Lucio III, Hartnett H.B. No. 1721
2	2	(Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini)
3	3	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2011;
4	4	May 3, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
5	5	Justice; May 21, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote:
6	6	Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 21, 2011, sent to printer.)
7	7
8	8
9	9	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	10	AN ACT
11	11	relating to protective orders for certain victims of stalking or
12	12	sexual assault.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Chapter 6, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
15	15	amended by adding Article 6.09 to read as follows:
16	16	Art. 6.09. STALKING PROTECTIVE ORDER. (a) At any
17	17	proceeding related to an offense under Section 42.072, Penal Code,
18	18	in which the defendant appears before the court, a person may
19	19	request the court to render a protective order under Title 4, Family
20	20	Code, for the protection of the person. The request is made by
21	21	filing "An Application for a Protective Order" in the same manner as
22	22	an application for a protective order under Title 4, Family Code.
23	23	(b) The court shall render a protective order in the manner
24	24	provided by Title 4, Family Code, if, in lieu of the finding that
25	25	family violence occurred and is likely to occur in the future as
26	26	required by Section 85.001, Family Code, the court finds that
27	27	probable cause exists to believe that an offense under Section
28	28	42.072, Penal Code, occurred and that the nature of the scheme or
29	29	course of conduct engaged in by the defendant in the commission of
30	30	the offense indicates that the defendant is likely to engage in the
31	31	future in conduct prohibited by Section 42.072(a)(1), (2), or (3),
32	32	Penal Code.
33	33	(c) The procedure for the enforcement of a protective order
34	34	under Title 4, Family Code, applies to the fullest extent
35	35	practicable to the enforcement of a protective order under this
36	36	article, including provisions relating to findings, contents,
37	37	duration, warning, delivery, law enforcement duties, and
38	38	modification.
39	39	SECTION 2. Chapter 7A, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
40	40	amended by adding Article 7A.035 to read as follows:
41	41	Art. 7A.035. HEARSAY STATEMENT OF CHILD VICTIM. In a
42	42	hearing on an application for a protective order under this
43	43	chapter, a statement that is made by a child younger than 14 years
44	44	of age who is the victim of an offense under Section 21.02, 21.11,
45	45	22.011, or 22.021, Penal Code, and that describes the offense
46	46	committed against the child is admissible as evidence in the same
47	47	manner that a child's statement regarding alleged abuse against the
48	48	child is admissible under Section 104.006, Family Code, in a suit
49	49	affecting the parent-child relationship.
50	50	SECTION 3. (a) Article 6.09, Code of Criminal Procedure,
51	51	as added by this Act, applies to the commission of an offense under
52	52	Section 42.072, Penal Code, without regard to whether the offense
53	53	was committed before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
54	54	(b) Article 7A.035, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by
55	55	this Act, applies only to a hearing on an application for a
56	56	protective order that is commenced on or after the effective date of
57	57	this Act. A hearing on an application for a protective order that
58	58	is commenced before the effective date of this Act is governed by
59	59	the law in effect on the date the hearing was commenced, and the
60	60	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
61	61	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
62	62	* * * * *