Texas 2019 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2823 Introduced / Bill

Filed 03/01/2019

                    86R13979 JRR-F
 By: VanDeaver H.B. No. 2823


 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 AN ACT
 relating to increasing the criminal punishment for assault
 committed against certain sports participants.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 SECTION 1.  Section 22.01(c), Penal Code, is amended to read
 as follows:
 (c)  An offense under Subsection (a)(2) or (3) is a Class C
 misdemeanor, except that the offense is[:
 [(1)]  a Class A misdemeanor if the offense is
 committed:
 (1)  under Subsection (a)(3) against an elderly
 individual or disabled individual, as those terms are defined by
 Section 22.04;
 (2)  [a Class B misdemeanor if the offense is
 committed] by any [a] person, other than [who is not] a sports
 participant who is an athlete younger than 19 years of age, against
 another [a] person the actor knows is a sports participant either:
 (A)  while the participant is performing duties or
 responsibilities in the participant's capacity as a sports
 participant; or
 (B)  in retaliation for or on account of the
 participant's performance of a duty or responsibility within the
 participant's capacity as a sports participant; or
 (3)  [a Class A misdemeanor if the offense is
 committed] against a pregnant individual to force the individual to
 have an abortion.
 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.