| 1 | 1 | | 85R11683 JSC-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Miller H.B. No. 2609 |
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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 penalty for certain family violence committed in |
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| 8 | 8 | | the presence of a child. |
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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. Section 22.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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| 11 | 11 | | Subsection (b-2) to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (b-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), unless an exception |
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| 13 | 13 | | is otherwise provided by that subsection, an offense under |
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| 14 | 14 | | Subsection (a)(1) is a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum term of |
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| 15 | 15 | | confinement of 30 days if: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) the offense is committed against a person whose |
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| 17 | 17 | | relationship to or association with the defendant is described by |
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| 18 | 18 | | Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code; |
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| 19 | 19 | | (2) the offense is committed in the physical presence |
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| 20 | 20 | | or within the hearing of a person who is younger than 15 years of |
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| 21 | 21 | | age; and |
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| 22 | 22 | | (3) at the time of the offense, the person has |
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| 23 | 23 | | knowledge or reason to know that the person who is younger than 15 |
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| 24 | 24 | | years of age is present and may see or hear the offense. |
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| 25 | 25 | | SECTION 2. Article 42A.504, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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| 26 | 26 | | amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows: |
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| 27 | 27 | | (e) A judge granting community supervision to a defendant |
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| 28 | 28 | | convicted of an offense under Section 22.01, Penal Code, and |
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| 29 | 29 | | punished under Subsection (b-2) of that section shall require as a |
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| 30 | 30 | | condition of community supervision that the defendant submit to not |
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| 31 | 31 | | less than five days of continuous confinement in county jail. |
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| 32 | 32 | | SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 33 | 33 | | an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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| 34 | 34 | | offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed |
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| 35 | 35 | | by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the |
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| 36 | 36 | | former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of |
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| 37 | 37 | | this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of |
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| 38 | 38 | | this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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| 39 | 39 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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