Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB403 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R2785 JSC-D
2	2	By: Dutton H.B. No. 403
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the penalty for certain offenders for possession of a
8	8	small amount of certain controlled substances.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 481.115, Health and Safety Code, is
11	11	amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), an [An] offense
14	14	under Subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum term of
15	15	confinement of 180 days [state jail felony] if the amount of the
16	16	controlled substance possessed is, by aggregate weight, including
17	17	adulterants or dilutants, less than one gram.
18	18	(b-1) An offense punishable under Subsection (b) is a state
19	19	jail felony if the person has been previously convicted of an
20	20	offense under this section or Section 481.1151, 481.116, 481.1161,
21	21	481.117, 481.118, or 481.121.
22	22	SECTION 2. Section 481.1151, Health and Safety Code, is
23	23	amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to
24	24	read as follows:
25	25	(b) An offense under this section is:
26	26	(1) a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum term of
27	27	confinement of 180 days [state jail felony] if the number of abuse
28	28	units of the controlled substance is fewer than 20, except as
29	29	provided by Subsection (c);
30	30	(2) a felony of the third degree if the number of abuse
31	31	units of the controlled substance is 20 or more but fewer than 80;
32	32	(3) a felony of the second degree if the number of
33	33	abuse units of the controlled substance is 80 or more but fewer than
34	34	4,000;
35	35	(4) a felony of the first degree if the number of abuse
36	36	units of the controlled substance is 4,000 or more but fewer than
37	37	8,000; and
38	38	(5) punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department
39	39	of Criminal Justice for life or for a term of not more than 99 years
40	40	or less than 15 years and a fine not to exceed $250,000, if the
41	41	number of abuse units of the controlled substance is 8,000 or more.
42	42	(c) An offense punishable under Subsection (b)(1) is a state
43	43	jail felony if the person has been previously convicted of an
44	44	offense under this section or Section 481.115, 481.116, 481.1161,
45	45	481.117, 481.118, or 481.121.
46	46	SECTION 3. Section 481.116, Health and Safety Code, is
47	47	amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
48	48	read as follows:
49	49	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), an [An] offense
50	50	under Subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum term of
51	51	confinement of 180 days [state jail felony] if the amount of the
52	52	controlled substance possessed is, by aggregate weight, including
53	53	adulterants or dilutants, less than one gram.
54	54	(b-1) An offense punishable under Subsection (b) is a state
55	55	jail felony if the person has been previously convicted of an
56	56	offense under this section or Section 481.115, 481.1151, 481.1161,
57	57	481.117, 481.118, or 481.121.
58	58	SECTION 4. Section 481.134(d), Health and Safety Code, is
59	59	amended to read as follows:
60	60	(d) An offense otherwise punishable under Section
61	61	481.112(b), 481.113(b), 481.114(b), 481.115(b-1) [481.115(b)],
62	62	481.116(b-1) [481.116(b)], 481.1161(b)(3), 481.120(b)(3), or
63	63	481.121(b)(3) is a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the
64	64	trial of the offense that the offense was committed:
65	65	(1) in, on, or within 1,000 feet of any real property
66	66	that is owned, rented, or leased to a school or school board, the
67	67	premises of a public or private youth center, or a playground; or
68	68	(2) on a school bus.
69	69	SECTION 5. Section 11, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal
70	70	Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (n) to read as follows:
71	71	(n) A judge who grants community supervision to a person
72	72	convicted of a Class A misdemeanor under Section 481.115(b),
73	73	481.1151(b)(1), 481.116(b), or 481.1161(b)(2), Health and Safety
74	74	Code, shall require, as a condition of community supervision, that
75	75	the person successfully complete an educational program on
76	76	substance abuse awareness approved by the Department of State
77	77	Health Services.
78	78	SECTION 6. Section 15(a)(1), Article 42.12, Code of
79	79	Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
80	80	(1) On conviction of a state jail felony under Section
81	81	481.115(b-1) [481.115(b)], 481.1151(c) [481.1151(b)(1)],
82	82	481.116(b-1) [481.116(b)], 481.1161(b)(3), 481.121(b)(3), or
83	83	481.129(g)(1), Health and Safety Code, that is punished under
84	84	Section 12.35(a), Penal Code, the judge shall suspend the
85	85	imposition of the sentence and place the defendant on community
86	86	supervision, unless the defendant has previously been convicted of
87	87	a felony, other than a felony punished under Section 12.44(a),
88	88	Penal Code, or unless the conviction resulted from an adjudication
89	89	of the guilt of a defendant previously placed on deferred
90	90	adjudication community supervision for the offense, in which event
91	91	the judge may suspend the imposition of the sentence and place the
92	92	defendant on community supervision or may order the sentence to be
93	93	executed. The provisions of this subdivision requiring the judge
94	94	to suspend the imposition of the sentence and place the defendant on
95	95	community supervision do not apply to a defendant who:
96	96	(A) under Section 481.1151(c) [481.1151(b)(1)],
97	97	Health and Safety Code, possessed more than five abuse units of the
98	98	controlled substance;
99	99	(B) under Section 481.1161(b)(3), Health and
100	100	Safety Code, possessed more than one pound, by aggregate weight,
101	101	including adulterants or dilutants, of the controlled substance; or
102	102	(C) under Section 481.121(b)(3), Health and
103	103	Safety Code, possessed more than one pound of marihuana.
104	104	SECTION 7. The change in law made by this Act applies only
105	105	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
106	106	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
107	107	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
108	108	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
109	109	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
110	110	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was
111	111	committed before that date.
112	112	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.