By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 1322
(Miller)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to increasing the punishment for certain conduct
constituting the offense of possession or promotion of child
pornography.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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 2. 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 this section; 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 this section [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 it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person has
been previously convicted of an offense under this section [that
subsection].
SECTION 3. 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.