Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1695 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Williams S.B. No. 1695
2	2	(Gallego, Aliseda, Carter, Davis of Dallas,
3	3	Hartnett)
4	4
5	5
6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to penalties for engaging in organized criminal activity.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 4, Article 37.07, Code
11	11	of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
12	12	(a) In the penalty phase of the trial of a felony case in
13	13	which the punishment is to be assessed by the jury rather than the
14	14	court, if the offense of which the jury has found the defendant
15	15	guilty is an offense under Section 71.02 or 71.023, Penal Code, or
16	16	an offense listed in Section 3g(a)(1), Article 42.12, [of this
17	17	code] or if the judgment contains an affirmative finding under
18	18	Section 3g(a)(2), Article 42.12, [of this code,] unless the
19	19	defendant has been convicted of an offense under Section 21.02,
20	20	Penal Code, an offense under Section 22.021, Penal Code, that is
21	21	punishable under Subsection (f) of that section, or a capital
22	22	felony, the court shall charge the jury in writing as follows:
23	23	"Under the law applicable in this case, the defendant, if
24	24	sentenced to a term of imprisonment, may earn time off the period of
25	25	incarceration imposed through the award of good conduct time.
26	26	Prison authorities may award good conduct time to a prisoner who
27	27	exhibits good behavior, diligence in carrying out prison work
28	28	assignments, and attempts at rehabilitation. If a prisoner engages
29	29	in misconduct, prison authorities may also take away all or part of
30	30	any good conduct time earned by the prisoner.
31	31	"It is also possible that the length of time for which the
32	32	defendant will be imprisoned might be reduced by the award of
33	33	parole.
34	34	"Under the law applicable in this case, if the defendant is
35	35	sentenced to a term of imprisonment, the defendant [he] will not
36	36	become eligible for parole until the actual time served equals
37	37	one-half of the sentence imposed or 30 years, whichever is less,
38	38	without consideration of any good conduct time the defendant [he]
39	39	may earn. If the defendant is sentenced to a term of less than four
40	40	years, the defendant [he] must serve at least two years before the
41	41	defendant [he] is eligible for parole. Eligibility for parole does
42	42	not guarantee that parole will be granted.
43	43	"It cannot accurately be predicted how the parole law and
44	44	good conduct time might be applied to this defendant if [he is]
45	45	sentenced to a term of imprisonment, because the application of
46	46	these laws will depend on decisions made by prison and parole
47	47	authorities.
48	48	"You may consider the existence of the parole law and good
49	49	conduct time. However, you are not to consider the extent to which
50	50	good conduct time may be awarded to or forfeited by this particular
51	51	defendant. You are not to consider the manner in which the parole
52	52	law may be applied to this particular defendant."
53	53	SECTION 2. Subsection (d), Section 508.145, Government
54	54	Code, is amended to read as follows:
55	55	(d) An inmate serving a sentence for an offense described by
56	56	Section 3g(a)(1)(A), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), (H), (I), (J), or (K),
57	57	Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, [or for] an offense for
58	58	which the judgment contains an affirmative finding under Section
59	59	3g(a)(2) of that article, or an offense under Section 71.02 or
60	60	71.023, Penal Code, is not eligible for release on parole until the
61	61	inmate's actual calendar time served, without consideration of good
62	62	conduct time, equals one-half of the sentence or 30 calendar years,
63	63	whichever is less, but in no event is the inmate eligible for
64	64	release on parole in less than two calendar years.
65	65	SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 508.149, Government
66	66	Code, is amended to read as follows:
67	67	(a) An inmate may not be released to mandatory supervision
68	68	if the inmate is serving a sentence for or has been previously
69	69	convicted of:
70	70	(1) an offense for which the judgment contains an
71	71	affirmative finding under Section 3g(a)(2), Article 42.12, Code of
72	72	Criminal Procedure;
73	73	(2) a first degree felony or a second degree felony
74	74	under Section 19.02, Penal Code;
75	75	(3) a capital felony under Section 19.03, Penal Code;
76	76	(4) a first degree felony or a second degree felony
77	77	under Section 20.04, Penal Code;
78	78	(5) an offense under Section 21.11, Penal Code;
79	79	(6) a felony under Section 22.011, Penal Code;
80	80	(7) a first degree felony or a second degree felony
81	81	under Section 22.02, Penal Code;
82	82	(8) a first degree felony under Section 22.021, Penal
83	83	Code;
84	84	(9) a first degree felony under Section 22.04, Penal
85	85	Code;
86	86	(10) a first degree felony under Section 28.02, Penal
87	87	Code;
88	88	(11) a second degree felony under Section 29.02, Penal
89	89	Code;
90	90	(12) a first degree felony under Section 29.03, Penal
91	91	Code;
92	92	(13) a first degree felony under Section 30.02, Penal
93	93	Code;
94	94	(14) a felony for which the punishment is increased
95	95	under Section 481.134 or Section 481.140, Health and Safety Code;
96	96	(15) an offense under Section 43.25, Penal Code;
97	97	(16) an offense under Section 21.02, Penal Code; [or]
98	98	(17) a first degree felony under Section 15.03, Penal
99	99	Code; or
100	100	(18) a first degree felony under Section 71.02 or
101	101	71.023, Penal Code.
102	102	SECTION 4. Subsection (b), Section 71.02, Penal Code, as
103	103	amended by Chapters 761 (H.B. 354) and 900 (S.B. 1067), Acts of the
104	104	73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is reenacted and amended
105	105	to read as follows:
106	106	(b) Except as provided in Subsections (c) and (d), an
107	107	offense under this section is one category higher than the most
108	108	serious offense listed in Subsection (a) that was committed, and if
109	109	the most serious offense is a Class A misdemeanor, the offense is a
110	110	state jail felony, except that if the most serious offense is a
111	111	felony of the first degree, the offense is a felony of the first
112	112	degree punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of
113	113	Criminal Justice for life or for any term of not more than 99 years
114	114	or less than 15 years.
115	115	SECTION 5. Subsection (c), Section 71.02, Penal Code, as
116	116	amended by Chapters 761 (H.B. 354) and 900 (S.B. 1067), Acts of the
117	117	73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is reenacted to read as
118	118	follows:
119	119	(c) Conspiring to commit an offense under this section is of
120	120	the same degree as the most serious offense listed in Subsection (a)
121	121	that the person conspired to commit.
122	122	SECTION 6. Section 71.023, Penal Code, is amended to read as
123	123	follows:
124	124	Sec. 71.023. DIRECTING ACTIVITIES OF [CERTAIN] CRIMINAL
125	125	STREET GANGS. (a) A person commits an offense if the person, as
126	126	part of the identifiable leadership of a criminal street gang,
127	127	knowingly [initiates, organizes, plans,] finances, directs,
128	128	[manages,] or supervises the commission of, or a conspiracy to
129	129	commit, one or more of the following offenses by [a criminal street
130	130	gang or] members of a criminal street gang:
131	131	(1) a felony that is listed in Section 3g(a)(1),
132	132	Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure;
133	133	(2) a felony for which it is shown that a deadly
134	134	weapon, as defined by Section 1.07, was used or exhibited during the
135	135	commission of the offense or during immediate flight from the
136	136	commission of the offense; or
137	137	(3) an offense that is punishable as a felony of the
138	138	first or second degree under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code
139	139	[with the intent to benefit, promote, or further the interests of
140	140	the criminal street gang or to increase the person's standing,
141	141	position, or status in the criminal street gang].
142	142	(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the first
143	143	degree punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of
144	144	Criminal Justice for life or for any term of not more than 99 years
145	145	or less than 25 years.
146	146	[(c) Notwithstanding Section 71.01, in this section,
147	147	"criminal street gang" means:
148	148	[(1) an organization that:
149	149	[(A) has more than 10 members whose names are
150	150	included in an intelligence database under Chapter 61, Code of
151	151	Criminal Procedure;
152	152	[(B) has a hierarchical structure that has been
153	153	documented in an intelligence database under Chapter 61, Code of
154	154	Criminal Procedure;
155	155	[(C) engages in profit-sharing among two or more
156	156	members of the organization; and
157	157	[(D) in one or more regions of this state served
158	158	by different regional councils of government, continuously or
159	159	regularly engages in conduct:
160	160	[(i) that constitutes an offense listed in
161	161	Section 3g(a)(1), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure;
162	162	[(ii) in which it is alleged that a deadly
163	163	weapon is used or exhibited during the commission of or immediate
164	164	flight from the commission of any felony offense; or
165	165	[(iii) that is punishable as a felony of the
166	166	first or second degree under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code; or
167	167	[(2) an organization that, in collaboration with an
168	168	organization described by Subdivision (1), engages in conduct or
169	169	commits an offense or conspires to engage in conduct or commit an
170	170	offense described by Subdivision (1)(D).]
171	171	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
172	172	an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
173	173	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
174	174	by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former
175	175	law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
176	176	section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this
177	177	Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
178	178	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.