By: Zaffirini, et al. S.B. No. 50
(Lozano)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the offense of hazing.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 37.151(6), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(6) "Hazing" means any intentional, knowing, or
reckless act, occurring on or off the campus of an educational
institution, by one person alone or acting with others, directed
against a student[, that endangers the mental or physical health or
safety of a student] for the purpose of pledging, being initiated
into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining
membership in an organization if the act:
(A) is[. The term includes:
[(A)] any type of physical brutality, such as
whipping, beating, striking, branding, electronic shocking,
placing of a harmful substance on the body, or similar activity;
(B) involves [any type of physical activity, such
as] sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement in a
small space, calisthenics, or other similar activity that subjects
the student to an unreasonable risk of harm or that adversely
affects the mental or physical health or safety of the student;
(C) involves [any activity involving]
consumption of a food, liquid, alcoholic beverage, liquor, drug, or
other substance, other than as described by Paragraph (F), that
subjects the student to an unreasonable risk of harm or that
adversely affects the mental or physical health or safety of the
student;
(D) is any activity that:
(i) a reasonable person would believe
intimidates or threatens the student with ostracism, [that]
subjects the student to extreme mental stress, shame, or
humiliation, [that] adversely affects the mental health or dignity
of the student, or discourages the student from entering or
remaining registered in an educational institution;[,] or
(ii) [that] may reasonably be expected to
cause the [a] student to leave the organization or the institution
rather than submit to the activity [acts described in this
subdivision]; [and]
(E) is any activity that induces, causes, or
requires the student to perform a duty or task that involves a
violation of the Penal Code; or
(F) involves coercing, as defined by Section
1.07, Penal Code, the student to consume an alcoholic beverage,
liquor, or drug.
SECTION 2. Section 37.155, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 37.155. IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION OR CIVIL LIABILITY
AVAILABLE. (a) In the prosecution of an offense under this
subchapter, the court may grant immunity from prosecution for the
offense to each person who is subpoenaed to testify for the
prosecution and who does testify for the prosecution.
(b) Any person who voluntarily reports [reporting] a
specific hazing incident involving a student in an educational
institution to the dean of students or other appropriate official
of the institution is immune from civil or criminal liability that
might otherwise be incurred or imposed as a result of the reported
hazing incident if the person:
(1) reports the incident before being contacted by the
institution concerning the incident or otherwise being included in
the institution's investigation of the incident; and
(2) as determined by the dean of students or other
appropriate official of the institution designated by the
institution, cooperates in good faith throughout any institutional
process regarding the incident [report].
(c) Immunity under Subsection (b) extends to participation
in any judicial proceeding resulting from the report.
(d) A person is not immune under Subsection (b) if the
person:
(1) reports the person's own act of hazing; or
(2) reports an incident of hazing [reporting] in bad
faith or with malice [is not protected by this section].
SECTION 3. Subchapter F, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.158 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.158. VENUE. (a) In this section, "prosecuting
attorney" means a county attorney, district attorney, or criminal
district attorney.
(b) An offense under this subchapter may be prosecuted:
(1) in any county in which the offense may be
prosecuted under other law; or
(2) if the consent required by Subsection (c) is
provided, in a county, other than a county described by Subdivision
(1), in which is located the educational institution campus at
which a victim of the offense is enrolled.
(c) An offense under this subchapter may be prosecuted in a
county described by Subsection (b)(2) only with the written consent
of a prosecuting attorney of a county described by Subsection
(b)(1) who has authority to prosecute an offense under this
subchapter.
SECTION 4. Section 51.936(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) Not later than the 21st day of each semester, each
[Each] postsecondary educational institution shall distribute to
each student enrolled at the institution [during the first three
weeks of each semester]:
(1) a summary of the provisions of Subchapter F,
Chapter 37; and
(2) a list of organizations that have been disciplined
for hazing or convicted for hazing on or off the campus of the
institution during the preceding three years.
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 when 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 was
committed before that date.
SECTION 6. Section 37.155, Education Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to a civil cause of action that accrues on or
after the effective date of this Act. An action that accrued before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at
the time the action accrued, and that law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.