Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1482 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	~~86R19711~~ KJE-D
	1	+	86R1473 KJE-D
2	2		By: Lozano H.B. No. 1482
3		-	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1482:
4		-	By: Pacheco C.S.H.B. No. 1482
5	3
6	4
7	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	6		AN ACT
9	7		relating to the offense of hazing.
10	8		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	9		SECTION 1. Section 37.151(6), Education Code, is amended to
12	10		read as follows:
13	11		(6) "Hazing" means any intentional, knowing, or
14	12		reckless act, occurring on or off the campus of an educational
15	13		institution, by one person alone or acting with others, directed
16	14		against a student[, that endangers the mental or physical health or
17	15		safety of a student] for the purpose of pledging, being initiated
18	16		into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining
19	17		membership in an organization if the act:
20	18		(A) is[. The term includes:
21	19		[(A)] any type of physical brutality, such as
22	20		whipping, beating, striking, branding, electronic shocking,
23	21		placing of a harmful substance on the body, or similar activity;
24	22		(B) involves [any type of physical activity, such
25	23		as] sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement in a
26	24		small space, calisthenics, or other similar activity that subjects
27	25		the student to an unreasonable risk of harm or that adversely
28	26		affects the mental or physical health or safety of the student;
29	27		(C) involves [any activity involving]
30	28		consumption of a food, liquid, alcoholic beverage, liquor, drug, or
31	29		other substance, other than as described by Paragraph (F), that
32	30		subjects the student to an unreasonable risk of harm or that
33	31		adversely affects the mental or physical health or safety of the
34	32		student;
35	33		(D) is any activity that:
36	34		(i) a reasonable person would believe
37	35		intimidates or threatens the student with ostracism, [that]
38	36		subjects the student to extreme mental stress, shame, or
39	37		humiliation, [that] adversely affects the mental health or dignity
40	38		of the student, or discourages the student from entering or
41	39		remaining registered in an educational institution;[,] or
42	40		(ii) [that] may reasonably be expected to
43	41		cause the [a] student to leave the organization or the institution
44	42		rather than submit to the activity [acts described in this
45	43		subdivision]; [and]
46	44		(E) is any activity that induces, causes, or
47	45		requires the student to perform a duty or task that involves a
48	46		violation of the Penal Code; or
49	47		(F) involves coercing, as defined by Section
50	48		1.07, Penal Code, the student to consume an alcoholic beverage,
51	49		liquor, or drug.
52		-	SECTION 2. Section 37.152(a), Education Code, is amended to
53		-	read as follows:
54		-	(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
55		-	(1) engages in hazing;
56		-	(2) solicits, encourages, directs, aids, or attempts
57		-	to aid another in engaging in hazing;
58		-	(3) recklessly permits hazing to occur; [or]
59		-	(4) has firsthand knowledge of the planning of a
60		-	specific hazing incident involving a student in an educational
61		-	institution, or has firsthand knowledge that a specific hazing
62		-	incident has occurred, and knowingly fails to report that knowledge
63		-	in writing to the dean of students or other appropriate official of
64		-	the institution; or
65		-	(5) with the intent to prevent another person from
66		-	documenting or reporting a hazing incident:
67		-	(A) disables or takes the other person's
68		-	telephone or other electronic communication device;
69		-	(B) requires the other person to relinquish
70		-	possession of the other person's telephone or other electronic
71		-	communication device; or
72		-	(C) denies the other person access to a telephone
73		-	or other electronic communication device.
74		-	SECTION 3. Section 37.155, Education Code, is amended to
	50	+	SECTION 2. Section 37.155, Education Code, is amended to
75	51		read as follows:
76	52		Sec. 37.155. IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION OR CIVIL LIABILITY
77	53		AVAILABLE. (a) In the prosecution of an offense under this
78	54		subchapter, the court may grant immunity from prosecution for the
79	55		offense to each person who is subpoenaed to testify for the
80	56		prosecution and who does testify for the prosecution.
81	57		(b) Any person who voluntarily reports [reporting] a
82	58		specific hazing incident involving a student in an educational
83	59		institution to the dean of students or other appropriate official
84	60		of the institution is immune from civil or criminal liability that
85	61		might otherwise be incurred or imposed as a result of the reported
86	62		hazing incident if the person:
87	63		(1) reports the incident before being contacted by the
88	64		institution concerning the incident or otherwise being included in
89	65		the institution's investigation of the incident; and
90	66		(2) as determined by the dean of students or other
91	67		appropriate official of the institution designated by the
92	68		institution, cooperates in good faith throughout any institutional
93	69		process regarding the incident [report].
94	70		(c) Immunity under Subsection (b) extends to participation
95	71		in any judicial proceeding resulting from the report.
96	72		(d) A person is not immune under Subsection (b) if the
97	73		person:
98	74		(1) reports the person's own act of hazing; or
99	75		(2) reports an incident of hazing [reporting] in bad
100	76		faith or with malice [is not protected by this section].
101		-	SECTION 4. Subchapter F, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
	77	+	SECTION 3. Subchapter F, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
102	78		amended by adding Section 37.158 to read as follows:
103	79		Sec. 37.158. VENUE. (a) In this section, "prosecuting
104	80		attorney" means a county attorney, district attorney, or criminal
105	81		district attorney.
106	82		(b) An offense under this subchapter may be prosecuted:
107	83		(1) in any county in which the offense may be
108	84		prosecuted under other law; or
109	85		(2) if the consent required by Subsection (c) is
110	86		provided, in a county, other than a county described by Subdivision
111	87		(1), in which is located the educational institution campus at
112	88		which a victim of the offense is enrolled.
113	89		(c) An offense under this subchapter may be prosecuted in a
114	90		county described by Subsection (b)(2) only with the written consent
115	91		of a prosecuting attorney of a county described by Subsection
116	92		(b)(1) who has authority to prosecute an offense under this
117	93		subchapter.
118		-	SECTION 5. Section 51.936, Education Code, is amended by
	94	+	SECTION 4. Section 51.936, Education Code, is amended by
119	95		amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) to
120	96		read as follows:
121	97		(c) Not later than the 14th day before the first class day of
122	98		each fall or spring semester, each [Each] postsecondary educational
123	99		institution shall distribute to each student enrolled at the
124	100		institution [during the first three weeks of each semester]:
125	101		(1) a summary of the provisions of Subchapter F,
126	102		Chapter 37; and
127	103		(2) a copy of, or an electronic link to a copy of, the
128	104		report required under Subsection (c-1) [list of organizations that
129	105		have been disciplined for hazing or convicted for hazing on or off
130	106		the campus of the institution during the preceding three years].
131	107		(c-1) Each postsecondary educational institution shall
132	108		develop and post in a prominent location on the institution's
133		-	Internet website a report on hazing committed on or off campus by an
134		-	organization registered with or recognized by the institution. The
135		-	report:
	109	+	Internet website a report on hazing committed by an organization on
	110	+	or off campus. The report:
136	111		(1) must include information regarding each
137	112		disciplinary action taken by the institution against an
138	113		organization for hazing, and each conviction of hazing under
139		-	Section 37.153 by an organization, during the three years preceding
140		-	the date on which the report is issued or updated, including:
	114	+	Section 37.153 by an organization at the institution, during the
	115	+	three years preceding the date on which the report is issued or
	116	+	updated, including:
141	117		(A) the name of the organization disciplined or
142	118		convicted;
143	119		(B) the date on which the incident occurred or
144	120		the citation was issued, if applicable;
145	121		(C) the date on which the institution's
146	122		investigation into the incident, if any, was initiated;
147	123		(D) a general description of:
148	124		(i) the incident;
149	125		(ii) the violations of the institution's
150	126		code of conduct or the criminal charges, as applicable;
151	127		(iii) the findings of the institution or
152	128		court; and
153	129		(iv) any sanctions imposed by the
154	130		institution, or any fines imposed by the court, on the
155	131		organization; and
156	132		(E) the date on which the institution's
157	133		disciplinary process was resolved or on which the conviction became
158	134		final;
159	135		(2) must be updated to include information regarding
160	136		each disciplinary process or conviction not later than the 30th day
161	137		after the date on which the disciplinary process is resolved or the
162	138		conviction becomes final, as applicable; and
163	139		(3) may not include personally identifiable student
164	140		information and must comply with the Family Educational Rights and
165	141		Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g).
166	142		(c-2) Each postsecondary educational institution shall
167	143		provide to each student who attends the institution's student
168	144		orientation a notice regarding the nature and availability of the
169	145		report required under Subsection (c-1), including the report's
170	146		Internet website address.
171		-	SECTION 6. The change in law made by this Act applies only
	147	+	SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies only
172	148		to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
173	149		An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
174	150		governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and
175	151		the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
176	152		purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
177	153		effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was
178	154		committed before that date.
179		-	SECTION 7. Section 37.155, Education Code, as amended by
	155	+	SECTION 6. Section 37.155, Education Code, as amended by
180	156		this Act, applies only to a civil cause of action that accrues on or
181	157		after the effective date of this Act. An action that accrued before
182	158		the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at
183	159		the time the action accrued, and that law is continued in effect for
184	160		that purpose.
185		-	SECTION 8. Section 51.936(c), Education Code, as amended by
	161	+	SECTION 7. Section 51.936(c), Education Code, as amended by
186	162		this Act, and Section 51.936(c-2), Education Code, as added by this
187	163		Act, apply beginning with the 2020 spring semester.
188		-	SECTION 9. Not later than January 1, 2020, each
	164	+	SECTION 8. Not later than January 1, 2020, each
189	165		postsecondary educational institution shall develop and post on the
190	166		institution's Internet website the report required under Section
191	167		51.936(c-1), Education Code, as added by this Act.
192		-	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
	168	+	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.