| 1 | 1 | | By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 1322 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (Miller) |
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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 increasing the punishment for certain conduct |
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| 8 | 8 | | constituting the offense of possession or promotion of child |
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| 9 | 9 | | pornography. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 43.25(g), Penal Code, is amended to read |
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| 12 | 12 | | as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (g) When it becomes necessary for the purposes of this |
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| 14 | 14 | | section or Section 43.26 to make a determination regarding the age |
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| 15 | 15 | | of [determine whether] a child who participated in sexual conduct |
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| 16 | 16 | | [was younger than 18 years of age], the court or jury may make that |
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| 17 | 17 | | [this] determination by any of the following methods: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (1) personal inspection of the child; |
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| 19 | 19 | | (2) inspection of the photograph or motion picture |
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| 20 | 20 | | that shows the child engaging in the sexual performance; |
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| 21 | 21 | | (3) oral testimony by a witness to the sexual |
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| 22 | 22 | | performance as to the age of the child based on the child's |
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| 23 | 23 | | appearance at the time; |
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| 24 | 24 | | (4) expert medical testimony based on the appearance |
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| 25 | 25 | | of the child engaging in the sexual performance; or |
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| 26 | 26 | | (5) any other method authorized by law or by the rules |
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| 27 | 27 | | of evidence at common law. |
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| 28 | 28 | | SECTION 2. Sections 43.26(d) and (g), Penal Code, are |
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| 29 | 29 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 30 | 30 | | (d) An offense under Subsection (a) is a felony of the third |
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| 31 | 31 | | degree, except that the offense is: |
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| 32 | 32 | | (1) a felony of the second degree if: |
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| 33 | 33 | | (A) it is shown on the trial of the offense that |
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| 34 | 34 | | the person has been previously convicted one time of an offense |
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| 35 | 35 | | under this section; or |
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| 36 | 36 | | (B) the child depicted in the visual material was |
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| 37 | 37 | | younger than 14 years of age at the time the image was made [that |
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| 38 | 38 | | subsection]; and |
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| 39 | 39 | | (2) a felony of the first degree if it is shown on the |
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| 40 | 40 | | trial of the offense that the person has been previously convicted |
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| 41 | 41 | | two or more times of an offense under this section [that |
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| 42 | 42 | | subsection]. |
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| 43 | 43 | | (g) An offense under Subsection (e) is a felony of the |
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| 44 | 44 | | second degree, except that the offense is a felony of the first |
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| 45 | 45 | | degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person has |
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| 46 | 46 | | been previously convicted of an offense under this section [that |
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| 47 | 47 | | subsection]. |
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| 48 | 48 | | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 49 | 49 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 50 | 50 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 51 | 51 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 52 | 52 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 53 | 53 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 54 | 54 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 55 | 55 | | before that date. |
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| 56 | 56 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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