| 1 | 1 | | 86R12655 JRR-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Creighton S.B. No. 2319 |
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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 prosecution of criminal offenses involving the |
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| 8 | 8 | | trafficking of persons. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Article 13.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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| 11 | 11 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Art. 13.12. TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS, FALSE IMPRISONMENT, |
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| 13 | 13 | | KIDNAPPING, AND SMUGGLING OF PERSONS. (a) Venue for trafficking |
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| 14 | 14 | | of persons, false imprisonment, kidnapping, and smuggling of |
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| 15 | 15 | | persons is in: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) the county in which the offense was committed; or |
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| 17 | 17 | | (2) any county through, into, or out of which the |
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| 18 | 18 | | person trafficked, falsely imprisoned, kidnapped, or transported |
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| 19 | 19 | | may have been taken. |
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| 20 | 20 | | (b) If a defendant commits an offense under Chapter 20A, |
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| 21 | 21 | | Penal Code, that is part of a criminal episode, as defined by |
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| 22 | 22 | | Section 3.01, Penal Code, all of the offenses arising out of the |
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| 23 | 23 | | same criminal episode may be prosecuted in any county in which any |
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| 24 | 24 | | offense in the criminal episode was committed. |
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| 25 | 25 | | SECTION 2. Chapter 20A, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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| 26 | 26 | | Section 20A.015 to read as follows: |
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| 27 | 27 | | Sec. 20A.015. PROSECUTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL AUTHORIZED. |
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| 28 | 28 | | (a) The attorney general may prosecute an offense under this |
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| 29 | 29 | | chapter and any other offense arising out of the same criminal |
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| 30 | 30 | | episode, as defined by Section 3.01. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (b) The attorney general may appear before a grand jury in |
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| 32 | 32 | | connection with an offense the attorney general is authorized to |
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| 33 | 33 | | prosecute under this section. |
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| 34 | 34 | | (c) The authority to prosecute prescribed by this section |
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| 35 | 35 | | does not affect the authority derived from other law to prosecute |
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| 36 | 36 | | the same offenses. |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 3. Article 13.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, as |
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| 38 | 38 | | amended by this Act, and Section 20A.015, Penal Code, as added by |
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| 39 | 39 | | this Act, apply only to the prosecution of an offense committed on |
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| 40 | 40 | | or after the effective date of this Act. The prosecution of an |
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| 41 | 41 | | offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed |
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| 42 | 42 | | by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the |
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| 43 | 43 | | former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of |
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| 44 | 44 | | this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of |
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| 45 | 45 | | this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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