| 1 | | - | H.B. No. 3521 |
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| 1 | + | By: Hunter (Senate Sponsor - Huffman) H.B. No. 3521 |
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| 2 | + | (In the Senate - Received from the House May 12, 2021; |
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| 3 | + | May 12, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on |
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| 4 | + | Jurisprudence; May 21, 2021, reported favorably by the following |
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| 5 | + | vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 21, 2021, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | + | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 4 | 10 | | AN ACT |
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| 5 | 11 | | relating to the definition of coercion for purposes of trafficking |
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| 6 | 12 | | of persons. |
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| 7 | 13 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 8 | 14 | | SECTION 1. Section 20A.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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| 9 | 15 | | Subdivision (1-a) to read as follows: |
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| 10 | 16 | | (1-a) "Coercion" as defined by Section 1.07 includes: |
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| 11 | 17 | | (A) destroying, concealing, confiscating, or |
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| 12 | 18 | | withholding from a trafficked person, or threatening to destroy, |
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| 13 | 19 | | conceal, confiscate, or withhold from a trafficked person, the |
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| 14 | 20 | | person's actual or purported: |
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| 15 | 21 | | (i) government records; or |
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| 16 | 22 | | (ii) identifying information or documents; |
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| 17 | 23 | | (B) causing a trafficked person, without the |
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| 18 | 24 | | person's consent, to become intoxicated, as defined by Section |
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| 19 | 25 | | 49.01, to a degree that impairs the person's ability to appraise the |
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| 20 | 26 | | nature of or resist engaging in any conduct, including performing |
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| 21 | 27 | | or providing labor or services; or |
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| 22 | 28 | | (C) withholding alcohol or a controlled |
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| 23 | 29 | | substance to a degree that impairs the ability of a trafficked |
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| 24 | 30 | | person with a chemical dependency, as defined by Section 462.001, |
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| 25 | 31 | | Health and Safety Code, to appraise the nature of or resist engaging |
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| 26 | 32 | | in any conduct, including performing or providing labor or |
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| 27 | 33 | | services. |
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| 28 | 34 | | SECTION 2. Section 20A.02(a-1), Penal Code, is repealed. |
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| 29 | 35 | | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 30 | 36 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 31 | 37 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 32 | 38 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 33 | 39 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 34 | 40 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 35 | 41 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 36 | 42 | | before that date. |
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| 37 | 43 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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| 38 | | - | ______________________________ ______________________________ |
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| 39 | | - | President of the Senate Speaker of the House |
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| 40 | | - | I certify that H.B. No. 3521 was passed by the House on May |
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| 41 | | - | 11, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 0, 2 present, not |
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| 42 | | - | voting. |
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| 43 | | - | ______________________________ |
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| 44 | | - | Chief Clerk of the House |
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| 45 | | - | I certify that H.B. No. 3521 was passed by the Senate on May |
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| 46 | | - | 27, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. |
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| 47 | | - | ______________________________ |
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| 48 | | - | Secretary of the Senate |
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| 49 | | - | APPROVED: _____________________ |
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| 50 | | - | Date |
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| 51 | | - | _____________________ |
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| 52 | | - | Governor |
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| 44 | + | * * * * * |
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