| 1 | 1 | | 87R8810 MEW-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Hughes S.B. No. 834 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the punishment for possession of child pornography; |
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| 8 | 8 | | increasing criminal penalties. |
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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 43.26, Penal Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as |
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| 12 | 12 | | follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (d) An offense under Subsection (a) is: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) a felony of the third degree if the person |
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| 15 | 15 | | possesses visual material that contains fewer than 10 visual |
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| 16 | 16 | | depictions of a child as described by Subsection (a)(1); |
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| 17 | 17 | | (2) [, except that the offense is: |
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| 18 | 18 | | [(1)] a felony of the second degree if [it is shown on |
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| 19 | 19 | | the trial of the offense that] the person possesses visual material |
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| 20 | 20 | | that contains 10 or more visual depictions of a child as described |
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| 21 | 21 | | by Subsection (a)(1) but fewer than 200 such depictions [has been |
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| 22 | 22 | | previously convicted one time of an offense under that subsection]; |
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| 23 | 23 | | or |
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| 24 | 24 | | (3) [and |
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| 25 | 25 | | [(2)] a felony of the first degree if [it is shown on the |
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| 26 | 26 | | trial of the offense that] the person possesses visual material |
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| 27 | 27 | | that contains 200 or more visual depictions of a child as described |
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| 28 | 28 | | by Subsection (a)(1) [has been previously convicted two or more |
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| 29 | 29 | | times of an offense under that subsection]. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (d-1) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under |
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| 31 | 31 | | Subsection (a) that the defendant has been previously convicted of |
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| 32 | 32 | | an offense under that subsection: |
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| 33 | 33 | | (1) an offense described for purposes of punishment by |
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| 34 | 34 | | Subsection (d)(1) or (2) is increased to the next higher category of |
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| 35 | 35 | | offense; or |
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| 36 | 36 | | (2) the minimum term of confinement for an offense |
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| 37 | 37 | | described for purposes of punishment by Subsection (d)(3) is |
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| 38 | 38 | | increased to 15 years. |
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| 39 | 39 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 40 | 40 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 41 | 41 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 42 | 42 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 43 | 43 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 44 | 44 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 45 | 45 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 46 | 46 | | before that date. |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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