H.B. No. 1661
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of continuous
violence against the family.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as Rachel's Law.
SECTION 2. Chapter 13, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 13.072 to read as follows:
Art. 13.072. CONTINUOUS VIOLENCE AGAINST THE FAMILY
COMMITTED IN MORE THAN ONE COUNTY. An offense under Section 25.11,
Penal Code, may be prosecuted in any county in which the defendant
engaged in the conduct constituting an offense under Section
22.01(a)(1), Penal Code, against a person described by Section
25.11(a), Penal Code.
SECTION 3. Section 25.11(b), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(b) If the jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury are
not required to agree unanimously on the specific conduct in which
the defendant engaged that constituted an offense under Section
22.01(a)(1) against the person or persons described by Subsection
(a), [or] the exact date when that conduct occurred, or the county
in which each instance of the conduct occurred. The jury must agree
unanimously that the defendant, during a period that is 12 months or
less in duration, two or more times engaged in conduct that
constituted an offense under Section 22.01(a)(1) against the person
or persons described by Subsection (a).
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply 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 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1661 was passed by the House on April
17, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1661 was passed by the Senate on May
21, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor