85R11511 MAW-D
By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 1322
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to increasing the punishment for the offense of possession
or promotion of child pornography; changing parole eligibility.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 42.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Section 12 to read as follows:
Sec. 12. In addition to the information described by
Section 1, the judgment should reflect affirmative findings entered
pursuant to Article 42.0151.
SECTION 2. Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 42.0151 to read as follows:
Art. 42.0151. FINDING REGARDING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. In the
trial of an offense under Section 43.26, Penal Code, the judge shall
make an affirmative finding of fact and enter the affirmative
finding in the judgment in the case if the judge determines the
child depicted in the visual material was younger than six years of
age at the time the image was made.
SECTION 3. Section 508.145(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) An inmate is not eligible for release on parole if the
inmate is:
(1) under sentence of death;
(2) [,] serving a sentence of life imprisonment
without parole;
(3) serving a sentence for an offense for which the
judgment contains an affirmative finding under Article 42.0151,
Code of Criminal Procedure;
(4) [,] serving a sentence for an offense under
Section 21.02, Penal Code; or
(5) [, or] serving a sentence for an offense under
Section 22.021, Penal Code, that is punishable under Subsection (f)
of that section [is not eligible for release on parole].
SECTION 4. Section 43.25(g), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(g) When it becomes necessary for the purposes of this
section or Section 43.26 to make a determination regarding the age
of [determine whether] a child who participated in sexual conduct
[was younger than 18 years of age], the court or jury may make that
[this] determination by any of the following methods:
(1) personal inspection of the child;
(2) inspection of the photograph or motion picture
that shows the child engaging in the sexual performance;
(3) oral testimony by a witness to the sexual
performance as to the age of the child based on the child's
appearance at the time;
(4) expert medical testimony based on the appearance
of the child engaging in the sexual performance; or
(5) any other method authorized by law or by the rules
of evidence at common law.
SECTION 5. Sections 43.26(d) and (g), Penal Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(d) An offense under Subsection (a) is a felony of the third
degree, except that the offense is:
(1) a felony of the second degree if:
(A) it is shown on the trial of the offense that
the person has been previously convicted one time of an offense
under Subsection (a); or
(B) the child depicted in the visual material was
younger than 14 years of age at the time the image was made [that
subsection]; and
(2) a felony of the first degree if it is shown on the
trial of the offense that the person has been previously convicted
two or more times of an offense under Subsection (a) [that
subsection].
(g) An offense under Subsection (e) is a felony of the
second degree, except that the offense is a felony of the first
degree if:
(1) it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
person has been previously convicted of an offense under Subsection
(e); or
(2) the child depicted in the visual material was
younger than 14 years of age at the time the image was made [that
subsection].
SECTION 6. 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 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.