| 1 | 1 | | By: Fraser S.B. No. 496 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (Hilderbran, Gallego, Fletcher, Rodriguez) |
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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 the punishment for the offense of evading arrest or |
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| 8 | 8 | | detention. |
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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. Subsections (b) and (c), Section 38.04, Penal |
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| 11 | 11 | | Code, are amended to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, |
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| 13 | 13 | | except that the offense is: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) a state jail felony if: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (A) the actor has been previously convicted under |
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| 16 | 16 | | this section; or |
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| 17 | 17 | | (B) the actor uses a vehicle or watercraft while |
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| 18 | 18 | | the actor is in flight and the actor has not been previously |
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| 19 | 19 | | convicted under this section; |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) a felony of the third degree if: |
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| 21 | 21 | | (A) the actor uses a vehicle or watercraft while |
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| 22 | 22 | | the actor is in flight and the actor has been previously convicted |
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| 23 | 23 | | under this section; or |
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| 24 | 24 | | (B) another suffers serious bodily injury as a |
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| 25 | 25 | | direct result of an attempt by the officer from whom the actor is |
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| 26 | 26 | | fleeing to apprehend the actor while the actor is in flight; or |
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| 27 | 27 | | (3) a felony of the second degree if another suffers |
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| 28 | 28 | | death as a direct result of an attempt by the officer from whom the |
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| 29 | 29 | | actor is fleeing to apprehend the actor while the actor is in |
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| 30 | 30 | | flight. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (c) In this section: |
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| 32 | 32 | | (1) "Vehicle"[, "vehicle"] has the meaning assigned by |
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| 33 | 33 | | Section 541.201, Transportation Code. |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) "Watercraft" has the meaning assigned by Section |
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| 35 | 35 | | 49.01. |
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| 36 | 36 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 37 | 37 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 38 | 38 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 39 | 39 | | covered by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 40 | 40 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 41 | 41 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 42 | 42 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 43 | 43 | | before that date. |
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| 44 | 44 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
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