| 1 | 1 | | By: Toth H.B. No. 2360 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the prosecution and punishment of the criminal offense |
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| 7 | 7 | | of possession or promotion of lewd visual material depicting a |
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| 8 | 8 | | child; increasing a criminal penalty. |
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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. Section 43.262, Penal Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (c-1) and |
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| 12 | 12 | | (c-2) to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly |
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| 14 | 14 | | possesses, accesses with intent to view, or promotes visual |
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| 15 | 15 | | material that: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) depicts the lewd exhibition of the genitals or |
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| 17 | 17 | | pubic area of an unclothed, partially clothed, or clothed child who |
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| 18 | 18 | | is younger than 18 years of age at the time the visual material was |
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| 19 | 19 | | created; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) appeals to the prurient interest in sex[; and |
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| 21 | 21 | | [(3) has no serious literary, artistic, political, or |
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| 22 | 22 | | scientific value]. |
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| 23 | 23 | | (c) Except as provided by Subsection (c-1) or (c-2), an [An] |
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| 24 | 24 | | offense under this section is a state jail felony, except that the |
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| 25 | 25 | | offense is: |
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| 26 | 26 | | (1) a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the |
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| 27 | 27 | | trial of the offense that the person has been previously convicted |
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| 28 | 28 | | one time of an offense under this section or Section 43.26; and |
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| 29 | 29 | | (2) a felony of the second degree if it is shown on the |
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| 30 | 30 | | trial of the offense that the person has been previously convicted |
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| 31 | 31 | | two or more times of an offense under this section or Section 43.26. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (c-1) Subject to Subsection (c-2), an offense under this |
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| 33 | 33 | | section is a felony of the second degree if the offense is: |
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| 34 | 34 | | (1) based on the promotion of visual material; and |
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| 35 | 35 | | (2) committed by a corporation, association, limited |
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| 36 | 36 | | liability company, or other entity or organization governed by the |
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| 37 | 37 | | Business Organizations Code or an individual acting in the name of |
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| 38 | 38 | | or in behalf of such an entity or organization. |
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| 39 | 39 | | (c-2) An offense otherwise punishable under Subsection |
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| 40 | 40 | | (c-1) is a felony of the first degree if it is shown on the trial of |
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| 41 | 41 | | the offense that the actor has been previously convicted one or more |
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| 42 | 42 | | times of: |
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| 43 | 43 | | (1) an offense punishable under Subsection (c-1); or |
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| 44 | 44 | | (2) an offense under Section 43.26. |
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| 45 | 45 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 46 | 46 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 47 | 47 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 48 | 48 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 49 | 49 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 50 | 50 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 51 | 51 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 52 | 52 | | before that date. |
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| 53 | 53 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 54 | 54 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 55 | 55 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 56 | 56 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 57 | 57 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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