| 1 | 1 | | 2019S0202-1 02/12/19 |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Menéndez S.B. No. 1542 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the punishment for the offense of injury to a child, |
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| 8 | 8 | | elderly individual, or disabled individual and creating the offense |
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| 9 | 9 | | of continuous injury to a child. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 22.04, Penal Code, is amended by |
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| 12 | 12 | | amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (f-1) to read as |
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| 13 | 13 | | follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (f) Except as provided by Subsection (f-1), an [An] offense |
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| 15 | 15 | | under Subsection (a)(3) or (a-1)(3) is a felony of the third degree |
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| 16 | 16 | | when the conduct is committed intentionally or knowingly, except |
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| 17 | 17 | | that an offense under Subsection (a)(3) is a felony of the second |
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| 18 | 18 | | degree when the conduct is committed intentionally or knowingly and |
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| 19 | 19 | | the victim is a disabled individual residing in a center, as defined |
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| 20 | 20 | | by Section 555.001, Health and Safety Code, or in a facility |
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| 21 | 21 | | licensed under Chapter 252, Health and Safety Code, and the actor is |
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| 22 | 22 | | an employee of the center or facility whose employment involved |
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| 23 | 23 | | providing direct care for the victim. When the conduct is engaged |
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| 24 | 24 | | in recklessly, the offense is a state jail felony. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (f-1) An offense under Subsection (a)(3) or (a-1)(3) is a |
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| 26 | 26 | | felony of the second degree if: |
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| 27 | 27 | | (1) the conduct was committed intentionally or |
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| 28 | 28 | | knowingly; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (2) excessive force was used in the conduct that |
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| 30 | 30 | | resulted in the injury; and |
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| 31 | 31 | | (3) either: |
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| 32 | 32 | | (A) the victim of the offense was younger than |
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| 33 | 33 | | six years of age at the time the offense was committed; or |
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| 34 | 34 | | (B) it is shown on the trial of the offense that |
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| 35 | 35 | | the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense under |
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| 36 | 36 | | this section or Section 22.042. |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 2. Chapter 22, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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| 38 | 38 | | Section 22.042 to read as follows: |
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| 39 | 39 | | Sec. 22.042. CONTINUOUS INJURY TO A CHILD. (a) A person |
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| 40 | 40 | | commits an offense under this section if, during a period that is at |
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| 41 | 41 | | least 30 days but not more than five years, the person engages two |
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| 42 | 42 | | or more times in conduct that constitutes an offense under Section |
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| 43 | 43 | | 22.04 and the victim is a child. |
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| 44 | 44 | | (b) A defendant may not be charged with more than one count |
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| 45 | 45 | | under Subsection (a) if the conduct that constitutes an offense |
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| 46 | 46 | | under Section 22.04 is alleged to have been committed against the |
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| 47 | 47 | | same victim. |
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| 48 | 48 | | (c) If a jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury are |
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| 49 | 49 | | not required to agree unanimously on which specific conduct engaged |
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| 50 | 50 | | in by the defendant constitutes an offense under Section 22.04 or on |
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| 51 | 51 | | which exact date the defendant engaged in that conduct. The jury |
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| 52 | 52 | | must agree unanimously that the defendant, during a period that is |
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| 53 | 53 | | at least 30 days but not more than five years, engaged two or more |
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| 54 | 54 | | times in conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 22.04. |
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| 55 | 55 | | (d) A defendant may not be convicted of an offense under |
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| 56 | 56 | | Section 22.04 and an offense under Subsection (a) of this section |
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| 57 | 57 | | against the same victim in the same criminal action unless the |
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| 58 | 58 | | offense under Section 22.04: |
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| 59 | 59 | | (1) is charged in the alternative; |
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| 60 | 60 | | (2) occurred outside the period in which the offense |
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| 61 | 61 | | alleged under Subsection (a) was committed; or |
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| 62 | 62 | | (3) is considered by the trier of fact to be a lesser |
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| 63 | 63 | | included offense of the offense alleged under Subsection (a). |
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| 64 | 64 | | (e) An offense under this section is a felony of the second |
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| 65 | 65 | | degree, except that the offense is a felony of the second degree |
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| 66 | 66 | | punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal |
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| 67 | 67 | | Justice for a term of not more than 20 years or less than 15 years |
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| 68 | 68 | | if: |
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| 69 | 69 | | (1) the conduct constituting at least one of the |
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| 70 | 70 | | offenses under Section 22.04 caused serious bodily injury or |
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| 71 | 71 | | serious mental deficiency, impairment, or injury to the victim; or |
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| 72 | 72 | | (2) the actor used or exhibited a deadly weapon during |
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| 73 | 73 | | the commission of at least one of the offenses under Section 22.04. |
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| 74 | 74 | | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 75 | 75 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 76 | 76 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 77 | 77 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 78 | 78 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 79 | 79 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 80 | 80 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 81 | 81 | | before that date. |
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| 82 | 82 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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