By: Bonnen of Galveston, Moody, et al. H.B. No. 2396
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the penalty for certain family violence committed in
the presence of or in proximity to a child.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 22.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (b-2) to read as follows:
(b-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), unless an exception
is otherwise provided by that subsection, an offense under
Subsection (a)(1) is a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum term of
confinement of 30 days if the offense is committed against a person
whose relationship to or association with the defendant is
described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code,
and:
(1) the offense is committed in the physical presence
of, or in the same habitation or vehicle occupied by, a person who
is younger than 15 years of age; and
(2) at the time of the offense, the person has
knowledge or reason to know that the person who is younger than 15
years of age is physically present or occupies the same habitation
or vehicle.
SECTION 2. Section 14, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal
Procedure, as amended by Chapter 165 (H.B. 119), Acts of the 73rd
Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, Chapter 910 (H.B. 2187), Acts
of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999, Chapter 353 (S.B.
1054), Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, and
Chapter 113 (S.B. 44), Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2007, is amended by adding Subsection (b) to read as
follows:
(b) A judge granting community supervision to a defendant
convicted of an offense under Section 22.01, Penal Code, and
punished under Subsection (b-2) of that section shall require as a
condition of community supervision that the defendant submit to not
less than five days of continuous confinement in county jail.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.