By: Birdwell S.B. No. 1741
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to pretrial procedures, conditions for community
supervision, and criminal punishment for conduct endangering the
public safety; creating a criminal offense and increasing criminal
penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 17.03(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) Only the court before whom the case is pending may
release on personal bond a defendant who:
(1) is charged with an offense under the following
sections of the Penal Code:
(A) Section 19.03 (Capital Murder);
(B) Section 20.04 (Aggravated Kidnapping);
(C) Section 22.021 (Aggravated Sexual Assault);
(D) Section 22.03 (Deadly Assault on Law
Enforcement or Corrections Officer, Member or Employee of Board of
Pardons and Paroles, or Court Participant);
(E) Section 22.04 (Injury to a Child, Elderly
Individual, or Disabled Individual);
(F) Section 29.03 (Aggravated Robbery);
(G) Section 30.02 (Burglary);
(H) Section 71.02 (Engaging in Organized
Criminal Activity);
(I) Section 21.02 (Continuous Sexual Abuse of
Young Child or Children); [or]
(J) Section 20A.03 (Continuous Trafficking of
Persons); or
(K) Section 42.02 (Riot);
(2) is charged with a felony under Chapter 481, Health
and Safety Code, or Section 485.033, Health and Safety Code,
punishable by imprisonment for a minimum term or by a maximum fine
that is more than a minimum term or maximum fine for a first degree
felony; or
(3) does not submit to testing for the presence of a
controlled substance in the defendant's body as requested by the
court or magistrate under Subsection (c) of this article or submits
to testing and the test shows evidence of the presence of a
controlled substance in the defendant's body.
SECTION 2. Article 17.033, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) Notwithstanding the time limits imposed by Subsections
(a) and (b), a person who is arrested without a warrant for an
alleged violation of Section 42.02, Penal Code, and who is detained
in jail may not be released on bond before the earlier of:
(1) the day on which the court before whom the case is
pending is reasonably able to verify the person's:
(A) name;
(B) address of primary residence;
(C) driver's license number and state of
issuance, if any;
(D) place of employment, if any; and
(E) current enrollment at an institution of
higher education, if any; or
(2) the 72nd hour after the commencement of the
person's detention.
SECTION 3. Subchapter K, Chapter 42A, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended by adding Article 42A.517 to read as follows:
Art. 42A.517. COMMUNITY SUPERVISION FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES
INVOLVING OBSTRUCTION OF HIGHWAY OR OTHER PASSAGEWAY. A court
granting community supervision to a defendant convicted of an
offense punishable as a state jail felony under Section 42.03,
Penal Code, shall require as a condition of community supervision
that the defendant submit to not less than 10 days of confinement in
a county jail.
SECTION 4. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Penal Code, is amended
by adding Section 12.501 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.501. PENALTY IF OFFENSE COMMITTED DURING A RIOT.
(a) In this section, "riot" has the meaning assigned by Section
42.02.
(b) Subject to Subsections (d) and (e), the punishment for
an offense listed under Subsection (c) is increased to the
punishment prescribed for the next higher category of offense if it
is shown on the trial of the offense that at the time of the offense
the actor was participating in a riot.
(c) The increase in punishment authorized by this section
applies only to an offense under:
(1) Section 22.01 (Assault);
(2) Section 28.02 (Arson);
(3) Section 28.03 (Criminal Mischief);
(4) Section 29.02 (Robbery);
(5) Section 30.02 (Burglary);
(6) Section 30.03 (Burglary of Coin-operated or Coin
Collection Machines);
(7) Section 30.04 (Burglary of Vehicles);
(8) Section 30.05 (Criminal Trespass);
(9) Section 31.03 (Theft); and
(10) Section 50.02 (Unlawful Use of Fireworks).
(d) If an offense listed under Subsection (c) is punishable
as a Class A misdemeanor after the application of Subsection (b),
the minimum term of confinement for the offense shall be no less
than 180 days.
(e) If an offense listed under Subsection (c) is punishable
as a felony of the first degree, the punishment of that offense may
not be increased under this section.
SECTION 5. Section 42.02, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) The term "riot" as defined by Subsection (a) does not
include an assemblage of seven or more persons gathering to
exercise their rights under the First Amendment to the United
States Constitution or Section 8, Article I, Texas Constitution,
unless those persons engage in conduct described by Subsection (a).
SECTION 6. Section 42.03(c), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor,
except that the offense is a state jail felony if, in committing the
offense, the actor knowingly:
(1) prevents the passage of an authorized emergency
vehicle, as defined by Section 541.201, Transportation Code, that
is operating the vehicle's emergency audible or visual signals; or
(2) obstructs access to a hospital licensed under
Chapter 241, Health and Safety Code, or other health care facility
that provides emergency medical care, as defined by Section
773.003, Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 7. Section 42.13, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(c) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor,
except that the offense is:
(1) a felony of the third degree if the conduct causes
bodily injury to the officer; or
(2) a felony of the first degree if the conduct causes
serious bodily injury to the officer.
(d) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this
section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor
may be prosecuted under this section or the other law, but not both.
SECTION 8. Title 10, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Chapter 50 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 50. FIREWORKS
Sec. 50.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Consumer firework" and "fireworks" have the
meanings assigned by 49 C.F.R. Section 173.59.
(2) "Law enforcement officer" means a person who is a
peace officer under Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or a
person who is a federal law enforcement officer, as defined by 5
U.S.C. Section 8331(20).
Sec. 50.02. UNLAWFUL USE OF FIREWORKS. (a) A person
commits an offense if the person explodes or ignites fireworks with
the intent to:
(1) interfere with the lawful performance of an
official duty by a law enforcement officer; or
(2) flee from a person the actor knows is a law
enforcement officer attempting to lawfully arrest or detain the
actor.
(b) Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (d), an
offense under this section is a state jail felony.
(c) An offense under this section that involves any firework
that is not a consumer firework is a second degree felony.
(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), an offense under this
section is a felony of the first degree if the offense causes
serious bodily injury to a person the actor knows is a law
enforcement officer while the law enforcement officer is lawfully
discharging an official duty or in retaliation or on account of an
exercise of official power or performance of an official duty as a
law enforcement officer.
(e) If conduct constituting an offense under this section
also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor may be
prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both.
SECTION 9. Articles 17.03 and 17.033, Code of Criminal
Procedure, as amended by this Act, apply only to a person who is
arrested on or after the effective date of this Act. A person
arrested before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect on the date the person was arrested, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 10. Article 42A.517, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
added by this Act, Sections 12.501 and 50.02, Penal Code, as added
by this Act, and Sections 42.02, 42.03, and 42.13, Penal Code, as
amended by this Act, apply 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 when 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 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.