Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2011 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		By: Menéndez S.B. No. 2011
	2	+	(In the Senate - Filed March 12, 2021; April 1, 2021, read
	3	+	first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; May 4, 2021,
	4	+	reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0;
	5	+	May 4, 2021, sent to printer.)
	6	+	Click here to see the committee vote
2	7
3	8
4	9		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	10		AN ACT
6	11		relating to the criminal offense of interference with child custody
7		-	and a peace officer's duties with respect to that offense.
	12	+	and a peace officer's duties with respect to that offense;
	13	+	increasing a criminal penalty.
8	14		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	15		SECTION 1. Chapter 2, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
10	16		amended by adding Article 2.274 to read as follows:
11	17		Art. 2.274. INTERFERENCE WITH CHILD CUSTODY REPORT. (a) On
12	18		receiving a report of a violation of Section 25.03, Penal Code, a
13	19		peace officer shall attempt to determine the whereabouts of the
14	20		child and:
15	21		(1) if the child's whereabouts are known, make contact
16	22		with the alleged offender and locate and return the child to the
17	23		person entitled to possession of or access to the child; or
18	24		(2) if the child's whereabouts are unknown, submit a
19	25		missing child report under Chapter 63.
20	26		(b) A peace officer shall make a written report regarding an
21	27		incident under this article that includes:
22	28		(1) the date, time, and location of the alleged
23	29		offense;
24	30		(2) the names of the alleged offender, the
25	31		complainant, and each child who is the subject of the offense;
26	32		(3) whether a court order disposing of the child's
27	33		custody has been rendered;
28	34		(4) if applicable, the name of each party and each
29	35		child subject to the court order described by Subdivision (3); and
30	36		(5) if applicable, whether the court order described
31	37		by Subdivision (3) has been filed with local law enforcement.
32	38		SECTION 2. Section 25.03, Penal Code, is amended by
33		-	amending ~~Subsection~~ (c) and adding Subsections (c-3) and ~~(c-4) to~~
34		-	read as follows:
	39	+	amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsections (c-3) and
	40	+	(c-4) to read as follows:
35	41		(c) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(2)
36	42		that the actor returned the child to the geographic area of the
37	43		counties composing the judicial district if the court is a district
38	44		court or the county if the court is a statutory county court, within
39	45		one day [three days] after the date of the commission of the
40	46		offense.
41	47		(c-3) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
42	48		Subsection (a)(1) that:
43	49		(1) the actor's retention of the child was due to
44	50		circumstances beyond the actor's control;
45	51		(2) the actor promptly provided notice or made other
46	52		reasonable attempts to provide notice of the circumstances
47	53		described by Subdivision (1) to the other person entitled to
48	54		possession of or access to the child;
49	55		(3) the child was returned immediately to the other
50	56		person entitled to possession of or access to the child when the
51	57		circumstances described by Subdivision (1) no longer applied; and
52	58		(4) the circumstances described by Subdivision (1) are
53	59		not foreseeable and regularly recurring.
54	60		(c-4) For purposes of Subsection (c-3)(4), it is presumed
55	61		that the circumstances described by Subsection (c-3)(1) are
56	62		foreseeable and regularly occurring if those circumstances have
57	63		prevented the timely return of the child on three or more occasions
58	64		in the 12-month period preceding the offense.
	65	+	(d) An offense under this section is a state jail felony,
	66	+	except the offense is a felony of the third degree if it is shown on
	67	+	the trial of the offense that the actor has previously been
	68	+	convicted three or more times of an offense under this section.
59	69		SECTION 3. Section 25.03(b), Penal Code, is repealed.
60	70		SECTION 4. (a) Article 2.274, Code of Criminal Procedure,
61	71		as added by this Act, applies only to a report of a violation of
62	72		Section 25.03, Penal Code, received by a peace officer on or after
63	73		the effective date of this Act.
64	74		(b) The changes in law made by this Act to Section 25.03,
65	75		Penal Code, apply only to an offense committed on or after the
66	76		effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the
67	77		effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
68	78		date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in
69	79		effect for that purpose. For purposes of this subsection, an
70	80		offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any
71	81		element of the offense was committed before that date.
72	82		SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
	83	+	* * * * *