85R4445 MAW-D
By: Anchia H.B. No. 987
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to use of force or deadly force in defense of a person.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 9.31(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) Except as provided in Subsection (b), a person is
justified in using force against another when and to the degree the
actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to
protect the actor against the other's use or attempted use of
unlawful force. [The actor's belief that the force was immediately
necessary as described by this subsection is presumed to be
reasonable if the actor:
[(1) knew or had reason to believe that the person
against whom the force was used:
[(A) unlawfully and with force entered, or was
attempting to enter unlawfully and with force, the actor's occupied
habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment;
[(B) unlawfully and with force removed, or was
attempting to remove unlawfully and with force, the actor from the
actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment; or
[(C) was committing or attempting to commit
aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual
assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery;
[(2) did not provoke the person against whom the force
was used; and
[(3) was not otherwise engaged in criminal activity,
other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or
ordinance regulating traffic at the time the force was used.]
SECTION 2. Sections 9.32(a) and (b), Penal Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) A person is justified in using deadly force against
another:
(1) if the actor would be justified in using force
against the other under Section 9.31; [and]
(2) if a reasonable person in the actor's situation
would not have retreated; and
(3) when and to the degree the actor reasonably
believes the deadly force is immediately necessary:
(A) to protect the actor against the other's use
or attempted use of unlawful deadly force; or
(B) to prevent the other's imminent commission of
aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual
assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery.
(b) The requirement imposed by [actor's belief under]
Subsection (a)(2) does not apply to an actor who uses deadly force
against a person who at the time of the use of deadly force is
committing an offense involving the unlawful entry into the
habitation of the actor [that the deadly force was immediately
necessary as described by that subdivision is presumed to be
reasonable if the actor:
[(1) knew or had reason to believe that the person
against whom the deadly force was used:
[(A) unlawfully and with force entered, or was
attempting to enter unlawfully and with force, the actor's occupied
habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment;
[(B) unlawfully and with force removed, or was
attempting to remove unlawfully and with force, the actor from the
actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment; or
[(C) was committing or attempting to commit an
offense described by Subsection (a)(2)(B);
[(2) did not provoke the person against whom the force
was used; and
[(3) was not otherwise engaged in criminal activity,
other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or
ordinance regulating traffic at the time the force was used].
SECTION 3. Section 83.001, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 83.001. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE [CIVIL IMMUNITY]. It is
an affirmative defense to a civil action for damages for personal
injury or death that the [A] defendant, at the time the cause of
action arose, was justified in using [who uses force or] deadly
force under Section 9.32, Penal Code, against a person who at the
time of the [that is justified under Chapter 9, Penal Code, is
immune from civil liability for personal injury or death that
results from the defendant's] use of [force or] deadly force was
committing an offense involving the unlawful entry into the
habitation of the defendant [, as applicable].
SECTION 4. Sections 9.01(5), 9.31(e) and (f), and 9.32(c)
and (d), Penal Code, are repealed.
SECTION 5. 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 6. Section 83.001, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that
accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. A cause of
action that accrues before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law applicable to the cause of action immediately
before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.