Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB544 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R2720 JRR-F
2	2	By: Springer S.B. No. 544
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to certain defenses to prosecution involving the
8	8	justifiable use of force or threat of force.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 9.04, Penal Code, is amended to read as
11	11	follows:
12	12	Sec. 9.04. THREATS AS JUSTIFIABLE FORCE. The threat of
13	13	force is justified when the use of force is justified by this
14	14	chapter. For purposes of this section, a threat to cause death or
15	15	serious bodily injury by the exhibition [production] of a weapon or
16	16	otherwise, as long as the actor's purpose is limited to creating an
17	17	apprehension that the actor [he] will use deadly force if
18	18	necessary, does not constitute the use of deadly force.
19	19	SECTION 2. Section 9.31(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
20	20	as follows:
21	21	(a) Except as provided in Subsection (b), a person is
22	22	justified in using force against another when and to the degree the
23	23	actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to
24	24	protect the actor against the other's use or attempted use of
25	25	unlawful force. The actor's belief that the force was immediately
26	26	necessary as described by this subsection is presumed to be
27	27	reasonable if the actor:
28	28	(1) knew or had reason to believe that the person
29	29	against whom the force was used:
30	30	(A) unlawfully and with force entered, or was
31	31	attempting to enter unlawfully and with force, the actor's occupied
32	32	habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment;
33	33	(B) unlawfully and with force removed, or was
34	34	attempting to remove unlawfully and with force, the actor from the
35	35	actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment; or
36	36	(C) was committing or attempting to commit:
37	37	(i) aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual
38	38	assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated
39	39	robbery; or
40	40	(ii) arson, if the property intended to be
41	41	damaged or destroyed was an occupied building, an occupied
42	42	habitation, or an occupied vehicle;
43	43	(2) did not provoke the person against whom the force
44	44	was used; and
45	45	(3) was not otherwise engaged in criminal activity,
46	46	other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or
47	47	ordinance regulating traffic at the time the force was used.
48	48	SECTION 3. Section 9.32(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
49	49	as follows:
50	50	(a) A person is justified in using deadly force against
51	51	another:
52	52	(1) if the actor would be justified in using force
53	53	against the other under Section 9.31; and
54	54	(2) when and to the degree the actor reasonably
55	55	believes the deadly force is immediately necessary:
56	56	(A) to protect the actor against the other's use
57	57	or attempted use of unlawful deadly force; or
58	58	(B) to prevent the other's imminent commission
59	59	of:
60	60	(i) aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual
61	61	assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated
62	62	robbery; or
63	63	(ii) arson, if the property intended to be
64	64	damaged or destroyed was an occupied building, an occupied
65	65	habitation, or an occupied vehicle.
66	66	SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
67	67	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
68	68	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
69	69	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
70	70	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
71	71	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
72	72	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
73	73	before that date.
74	74	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.