Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4108 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R3060 KJE-D
2	2	By: King of Hemphill H.B. No. 4108
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the prosecution of the offenses of assault and
8	8	harassment by persons committed to certain facilities; increasing a
9	9	criminal penalty.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 1.07, Penal Code, is amended by adding
12	12	Subdivision (8-a) to read as follows:
13	13	(8-a) "Civil commitment facility" means a facility
14	14	owned, leased, or operated by the state, or by a vendor under
15	15	contract with the state, that houses only persons who have been
16	16	civilly committed as sexually violent predators under Chapter 841,
17	17	Health and Safety Code.
18	18	SECTION 2. Section 22.01, Penal Code, is amended by
19	19	amending Subsections (b-1) and (f) and adding Subsection (b-2) to
20	20	read as follows:
21	21	(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), an offense under
22	22	Subsection (a)(1) is a felony of the third degree if the offense is
23	23	committed:
24	24	(1) while the actor is committed to a civil commitment
25	25	facility; and
26	26	(2) against:
27	27	(A) an officer or employee of the Texas Civil
28	28	Commitment Office:
29	29	(i) while the officer or employee is
30	30	lawfully discharging an official duty at a civil commitment
31	31	facility; or
32	32	(ii) in retaliation for or on account of an
33	33	exercise of official power or performance of an official duty by the
34	34	officer or employee; or
35	35	(B) a person who contracts with the state to
36	36	perform a service in a civil commitment facility or an employee of
37	37	that person:
38	38	(i) while the person or employee is engaged
39	39	in performing a service within the scope of the contract, if the
40	40	actor knows the person or employee is authorized by the state to
41	41	provide the service; or
42	42	(ii) in retaliation for or on account of the
43	43	person's or employee's performance of a service within the scope of
44	44	the contract.
45	45	(b-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (b)(2), an offense under
46	46	Subsection (a)(1) is a felony of the second degree if:
47	47	(1) the offense is committed against a person whose
48	48	relationship to or association with the defendant is described by
49	49	Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code;
50	50	(2) it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
51	51	defendant has been previously convicted of an offense under this
52	52	chapter, Chapter 19, or Section 20.03, 20.04, or 21.11 against a
53	53	person whose relationship to or association with the defendant is
54	54	described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code;
55	55	and
56	56	(3) the offense is committed by intentionally,
57	57	knowingly, or recklessly impeding the normal breathing or
58	58	circulation of the blood of the person by applying pressure to the
59	59	person's throat or neck or by blocking the person's nose or mouth.
60	60	(f) For the purposes of Subsections (b)(2)(A) and (b-2)(2)
61	61	[(b-1)(2)]:
62	62	(1) a defendant has been previously convicted of an
63	63	offense listed in those subsections committed against a person
64	64	whose relationship to or association with the defendant is
65	65	described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code, if
66	66	the defendant was adjudged guilty of the offense or entered a plea
67	67	of guilty or nolo contendere in return for a grant of deferred
68	68	adjudication, regardless of whether the sentence for the offense
69	69	was ever imposed or whether the sentence was probated and the
70	70	defendant was subsequently discharged from community supervision;
71	71	and
72	72	(2) a conviction under the laws of another state for an
73	73	offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the
74	74	elements of an offense listed in those subsections is a conviction
75	75	of the offense listed.
76	76	SECTION 3. The heading to Section 22.11, Penal Code, is
77	77	amended to read as follows:
78	78	Sec. 22.11. HARASSMENT BY PERSONS IN CERTAIN [CORRECTIONAL]
79	79	FACILITIES; HARASSMENT OF PUBLIC SERVANT.
80	80	SECTION 4. Sections 22.11(a) and (e), Penal Code, are
81	81	amended to read as follows:
82	82	(a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to
83	83	assault, harass, or alarm, the person:
84	84	(1) while imprisoned or confined in a correctional or
85	85	detention facility, causes another person to contact the blood,
86	86	seminal fluid, vaginal fluid, saliva, urine, or feces of the actor,
87	87	any other person, or an animal; [or]
88	88	(2) while committed to a civil commitment facility,
89	89	causes:
90	90	(A) an officer or employee of the Texas Civil
91	91	Commitment Office to contact the blood, seminal fluid, vaginal
92	92	fluid, saliva, urine, or feces of the actor, any other person, or an
93	93	animal:
94	94	(i) while the officer or employee is
95	95	lawfully discharging an official duty at a civil commitment
96	96	facility; or
97	97	(ii) in retaliation for or on account of an
98	98	exercise of official power or performance of an official duty by the
99	99	officer or employee; or
100	100	(B) a person who contracts with the state to
101	101	perform a service in the facility or an employee of that person to
102	102	contact the blood, seminal fluid, vaginal fluid, saliva, urine, or
103	103	feces of the actor, any other person, or an animal:
104	104	(i) while the person or employee is engaged
105	105	in performing a service within the scope of the contract, if the
106	106	actor knows the person or employee is authorized by the state to
107	107	provide the service; or
108	108	(ii) in retaliation for or on account of the
109	109	person's or employee's performance of a service within the scope of
110	110	the contract; or
111	111	(3) causes another person the actor knows to be a
112	112	public servant to contact the blood, seminal fluid, vaginal fluid,
113	113	saliva, urine, or feces of the actor, any other person, or an animal
114	114	while the public servant is lawfully discharging an official duty
115	115	or in retaliation or on account of an exercise of the public
116	116	servant's official power or performance of an official duty.
117	117	(e) For purposes of Subsection (a)(3) [(a)(2)], the actor is
118	118	presumed to have known the person was a public servant if the person
119	119	was wearing a distinctive uniform or badge indicating the person's
120	120	employment as a public servant.
121	121	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
122	122	an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
123	123	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
124	124	by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
125	125	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
126	126	this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
127	127	this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
128	128	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.