| 1 | 1 | | By: Parker, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Carona) H.B. No. 1205 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House April 22, 2013; |
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| 3 | 3 | | April 22, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on |
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| 4 | 4 | | Criminal Justice; May 9, 2013, reported favorably by the following |
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| 5 | 5 | | vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 9, 2013, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 9 | 9 | | AN ACT |
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| 10 | 10 | | relating to the offense of failure to report abuse or neglect of a |
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| 11 | 11 | | child. |
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| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Section 261.109, Family Code, is amended to read |
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| 14 | 14 | | as follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | Sec. 261.109. FAILURE TO REPORT; PENALTY. (a) A person |
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| 16 | 16 | | commits an offense if the person is required to make a report under |
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| 17 | 17 | | Section 261.101(a) [has cause to believe that a child's physical or |
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| 18 | 18 | | mental health or welfare has been or may be adversely affected by |
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| 19 | 19 | | abuse or neglect] and knowingly fails to make a report as provided |
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| 20 | 20 | | in this chapter. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (a-1) A person who is a professional as defined by Section |
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| 22 | 22 | | 261.101(b) commits an offense if the person is required to make a |
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| 23 | 23 | | report under Section 261.101(b) and knowingly fails to make a |
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| 24 | 24 | | report as provided in this chapter. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (b) An offense under Subsection (a) [this section] is a |
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| 26 | 26 | | Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail felony |
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| 27 | 27 | | if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the child was a |
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| 28 | 28 | | person with an intellectual disability [mental retardation] who |
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| 29 | 29 | | resided in a state supported living center, the ICF-MR component of |
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| 30 | 30 | | the Rio Grande State Center, or a facility licensed under Chapter |
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| 31 | 31 | | 252, Health and Safety Code, and the actor knew that the child had |
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| 32 | 32 | | suffered serious bodily injury as a result of the abuse or neglect. |
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| 33 | 33 | | (c) An offense under Subsection (a-1) is a Class A |
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| 34 | 34 | | misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail felony if it is |
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| 35 | 35 | | shown on the trial of the offense that the actor intended to conceal |
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| 36 | 36 | | the abuse or neglect. |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act to Section |
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| 38 | 38 | | 261.109, Family Code, apply only to an offense committed on or after |
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| 39 | 39 | | the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the |
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| 40 | 40 | | effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the |
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| 41 | 41 | | date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in |
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| 42 | 42 | | effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense |
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| 43 | 43 | | was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element |
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| 44 | 44 | | of the offense occurred before that date. |
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| 45 | 45 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |
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| 46 | 46 | | * * * * * |
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