S.B. No. 1232
AN ACT
relating to inappropriate conduct between a person and an animal;
creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.07(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person [he] knowingly
engages in any of the following acts in a public place or, if not in
a public place, the person [he] is reckless about whether another is
present who will be offended or alarmed by the person's [his]:
(1) act of sexual intercourse;
(2) act of deviate sexual intercourse; or
(3) act of sexual contact[; or
[(4) act involving contact between the person's mouth
or genitals and the anus or genitals of an animal or fowl].
SECTION 2. Chapter 21, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Section 21.09 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.09. BESTIALITY. (a) A person commits an offense
if the person knowingly:
(1) engages in an act involving contact between:
(A) the person's mouth, anus, or genitals and the
anus or genitals of an animal; or
(B) the person's anus or genitals and the mouth
of the animal;
(2) fondles or touches the anus or genitals of an
animal in a manner that is not a generally accepted and otherwise
lawful animal husbandry or veterinary practice, including touching
through clothing;
(3) causes an animal to contact the seminal fluid of
the person;
(4) inserts any part of a person's body or any object
into the anus or genitals of an animal in a manner that is not a
generally accepted and otherwise lawful animal husbandry or
veterinary practice;
(5) possesses, sells, transfers, purchases, or
otherwise obtains an animal with the intent that the animal be used
for conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4);
(6) organizes, promotes, conducts, or participates as
an observer of conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or
(4);
(7) causes a person to engage or aids a person in
engaging in conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4);
(8) permits conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2),
(3), or (4) to occur on any premises under the person's control;
(9) engages in conduct described by Subdivision (1),
(2), (3), or (4) in the presence of a child younger than 18 years of
age; or
(10) advertises, offers, or accepts the offer of an
animal with the intent that the animal be used in this state for
conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4).
(b) An offense under this section is a state jail felony,
unless the offense is committed under Subsection (a)(9) or results
in serious bodily injury or death of the animal, in which event the
offense is a felony of the second degree.
(c) It is an exception to the application of this section
that the conduct engaged in by the actor is a generally accepted and
otherwise lawful animal husbandry or veterinary practice.
SECTION 3. Section 42.092, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) to
read as follows:
(c) An offense under Subsection (b)(3), (4), (5), (6), or
(9) is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state
jail felony if the person has previously been convicted two times
under this section, two times under Section 42.09, or one time under
this section and one time under Section 42.09.
(c-1) An offense under Subsection (b)(1) or[,] (2) is a
felony of the third degree, except that the offense is a felony of
the second degree if the person has previously been convicted under
Subsection (b)(1), (2), (7), or (8) or under Section 42.09.
(c-2) An offense under Subsection (b)(7)[, (7),] or (8) is a
state jail felony, except that the offense is a felony of the third
degree if the person has previously been convicted [two times]
under this section[, two times under Section 42.09,] or [one time
under this section and one time] under Section 42.09.
SECTION 4. Article 42A.511, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 42A.511. COMMUNITY SUPERVISION FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES
INVOLVING ANIMALS. (a) If a judge grants community supervision to
a defendant convicted of an offense under Section 42.09, 42.091,
42.092, or 42.10, Penal Code, the judge may require the defendant to
attend a responsible pet owner course sponsored by a municipal
animal shelter, as defined by Section 823.001, Health and Safety
Code, that:
(1) receives federal, state, county, or municipal
funds; and
(2) serves the county in which the court is located.
(b) If a judge grants community supervision to a defendant
convicted of an offense under Section 21.09, Penal Code, the judge
may:
(1) require the defendant to relinquish custody of any
animals in the defendant's possession;
(2) prohibit the defendant from possessing or
exercising control over any animals or residing in a household
where animals are present; or
(3) require the defendant to participate in a
psychological counseling or other appropriate treatment program
for a period to be determined by the court.
SECTION 5. Article 62.001(5), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(5) "Reportable conviction or adjudication" means a
conviction or adjudication, including an adjudication of
delinquent conduct or a deferred adjudication, that, regardless of
the pendency of an appeal, is a conviction for or an adjudication
for or based on:
(A) a violation of Section 21.02 (Continuous
sexual abuse of young child or children), 21.09 (Bestiality), 21.11
(Indecency with a child), 22.011 (Sexual assault), 22.021
(Aggravated sexual assault), or 25.02 (Prohibited sexual conduct),
Penal Code;
(B) a violation of Section 43.05 (Compelling
prostitution), 43.25 (Sexual performance by a child), or 43.26
(Possession or promotion of child pornography), Penal Code;
(B-1) a violation of Section 43.02
(Prostitution), Penal Code, if the offense is punishable under
Subsection (c)(3) of that section;
(C) a violation of Section 20.04(a)(4)
(Aggravated kidnapping), Penal Code, if the actor committed the
offense or engaged in the conduct with intent to violate or abuse
the victim sexually;
(D) a violation of Section 30.02 (Burglary),
Penal Code, if the offense or conduct is punishable under
Subsection (d) of that section and the actor committed the offense
or engaged in the conduct with intent to commit a felony listed in
Paragraph (A) or (C);
(E) a violation of Section 20.02 (Unlawful
restraint), 20.03 (Kidnapping), or 20.04 (Aggravated kidnapping),
Penal Code, if, as applicable:
(i) the judgment in the case contains an
affirmative finding under Article 42.015; or
(ii) the order in the hearing or the papers
in the case contain an affirmative finding that the victim or
intended victim was younger than 17 years of age;
(F) the second violation of Section 21.08
(Indecent exposure), Penal Code, but not if the second violation
results in a deferred adjudication;
(G) an attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation, as
defined by Chapter 15, Penal Code, to commit an offense or engage in
conduct listed in Paragraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or (K);
(H) a violation of the laws of another state,
federal law, the laws of a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of
Military Justice for or based on the violation of an offense
containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements
of an offense listed under Paragraph (A), (B), (B-1), (C), (D), (E),
(G), (J), or (K), but not if the violation results in a deferred
adjudication;
(I) the second violation of the laws of another
state, federal law, the laws of a foreign country, or the Uniform
Code of Military Justice for or based on the violation of an offense
containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements
of the offense of indecent exposure, but not if the second violation
results in a deferred adjudication;
(J) a violation of Section 33.021 (Online
solicitation of a minor), Penal Code; or
(K) a violation of Section 20A.02(a)(3), (4),
(7), or (8) (Trafficking of persons), Penal Code.
SECTION 6. Section 821.021(1), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(1) "Cruelly treated" includes tortured, seriously
overworked, unreasonably abandoned, unreasonably deprived of
necessary food, care, or shelter, cruelly confined, [or] caused to
fight with another animal, or subjected to conduct prohibited by
Section 21.09, Penal Code.
SECTION 7. Section 821.023, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) A finding in a court of competent jurisdiction that a
person is guilty of an offense under Section 21.09, Penal Code, is
prima facie evidence at a hearing authorized by Section 821.022
that any animal in the person's possession has been cruelly
treated, regardless of whether the animal was subjected to conduct
prohibited by Section 21.09, Penal Code.
SECTION 8. Section 821.023(b), Health and Safety Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 9. 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 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1232 passed the Senate on
April 19, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 25, 2017, by the
following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1232 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 21, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 141,
Nays 0, one present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor