86R506 AJZ-F
By: Gervin-Hawkins H.B. No. 235
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to increasing the criminal penalty for certain offenses
committed in a vehicle operated by a public transportation system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Penal Code, is amended
by adding Section 12.501 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.501. PENALTY IF OFFENSE COMMITTED IN PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE. (a) Subject to Subsection (c), the
punishment for an offense described by Subsection (b) is increased
to the punishment prescribed for the next higher category of
offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the offense
was committed in a vehicle operated by an authority created under
Chapter 451, 452, 453, 457, 458, or 460, Transportation Code.
(b) The increase in punishment authorized by this section
applies only to an offense under Chapter 21, 22, or 29.
(c) This section does not apply to an offense for which the
punishment otherwise prescribed is the punishment for a first
degree felony or capital felony.
(d) For the purposes of this section, "vehicle" means a bus,
a railcar, rolling stock, or another vehicle used by the public for
mass transit purposes.
SECTION 2. 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.