Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB978 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R10554 KJE-F
2	2	By: Hall S.B. No. 978
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the prosecution and punishment of the criminal offense
8	8	of possession or promotion of lewd visual material depicting a
9	9	child; increasing a criminal penalty.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 43.262, Penal Code, is amended by
12	12	amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (c-1) and
13	13	(c-2) to read as follows:
14	14	(b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly
15	15	possesses, accesses with intent to view, or promotes visual
16	16	material that:
17	17	(1) depicts the lewd exhibition of the genitals or
18	18	pubic area of an unclothed, partially clothed, or clothed child who
19	19	is younger than 18 years of age at the time the visual material was
20	20	created; and
21	21	(2) appeals to the prurient interest in sex[; and
22	22	[(3) has no serious literary, artistic, political, or
23	23	scientific value].
24	24	(c) Except as provided by Subsection (c-1) or (c-2), an [An]
25	25	offense under this section is a state jail felony, except that the
26	26	offense is:
27	27	(1) a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the
28	28	trial of the offense that the person has been previously convicted
29	29	one time of an offense under this section or Section 43.26; and
30	30	(2) a felony of the second degree if it is shown on the
31	31	trial of the offense that the person has been previously convicted
32	32	two or more times of an offense under this section or Section 43.26.
33	33	(c-1) Subject to Subsection (c-2), an offense under this
34	34	section is a felony of the second degree if the offense is:
35	35	(1) based on the promotion of visual material; and
36	36	(2) committed by a corporation, association, limited
37	37	liability company, or other entity or organization governed by the
38	38	Business Organizations Code or an individual acting in the name of
39	39	or in behalf of such an entity or organization.
40	40	(c-2) An offense otherwise punishable under Subsection
41	41	(c-1) is a felony of the first degree if it is shown on the trial of
42	42	the offense that the actor has been previously convicted one or more
43	43	times of:
44	44	(1) an offense punishable under Subsection (c-1); or
45	45	(2) an offense under Section 43.26.
46	46	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
47	47	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
48	48	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
49	49	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
50	50	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
51	51	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
52	52	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
53	53	before that date.
54	54	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
55	55	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
56	56	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
57	57	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
58	58	Act takes effect September 1, 2021.