By: M. Gonzalez of El Paso, Moody, et al. H.B. No. 2403
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to removing gender restrictions in the "Romeo and Juliet"
defense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.11(b), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
section that the actor:
(1) was not more than three years older than the victim
[and of the opposite sex];
(2) did not use duress, force, or a threat against the
victim at the time of the offense; and
(3) at the time of the offense:
(A) was not required under Chapter 62, Code of
Criminal Procedure, to register for life as a sex offender; or
(B) was not a person who under Chapter 62 had a
reportable conviction or adjudication for an offense under this
section.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.