Texas 2021 - 87th 2nd C.S.

Texas House Bill HB154 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87S20036 JRR-D
2	2	By: Leman H.B. No. 154
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the prosecution and punishment of certain criminal
8	8	offenses committed in the course of or for the purpose of avoiding
9	9	certain law enforcement checkpoints or evading an arrest or
10	10	detention; increasing criminal penalties.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 20.05, Penal Code, as effective
13	13	September 1, 2021, is amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
14	14	follows:
15	15	(b-1) For purposes of Subsection (a)(1)(A), the actor is
16	16	presumed to have acted knowingly and with the intent to conceal the
17	17	individual being transported from a peace officer or special
18	18	investigator if in the course of committing the offense the actor
19	19	intentionally avoided a federal or state law enforcement
20	20	checkpoint.
21	21	SECTION 2. Section 22.01(b-1), Penal Code, is amended to
22	22	read as follows:
23	23	(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), an offense under
24	24	Subsection (a)(1) is a felony of the third degree if:
25	25	(1) it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
26	26	actor committed the offense in the course of or for the purpose of
27	27	intentionally avoiding a federal or state law enforcement
28	28	checkpoint; or
29	29	(2) the offense is committed:
30	30	(A) [(1)] while the actor is committed to a civil
31	31	commitment facility; and
32	32	(B) [(2)] against:
33	33	(i) [(A)] an officer or employee of the
34	34	Texas Civil Commitment Office:
35	35	(a) [(i)] while the officer or
36	36	employee is lawfully discharging an official duty at a civil
37	37	commitment facility; or
38	38	(b) [(ii)] in retaliation for or on
39	39	account of an exercise of official power or performance of an
40	40	official duty by the officer or employee; or
41	41	(ii) [(B)] a person who contracts with the
42	42	state to perform a service in a civil commitment facility or an
43	43	employee of that person:
44	44	(a) [(i)] while the person or
45	45	employee is engaged in performing a service within the scope of the
46	46	contract, if the actor knows the person or employee is authorized by
47	47	the state to provide the service; or
48	48	(b) [(ii)] in retaliation for or on
49	49	account of the person's or employee's performance of a service
50	50	within the scope of the contract.
51	51	SECTION 3. Chapter 28, Penal Code, is amended by adding
52	52	Section 28.10 to read as follows:
53	53	Sec. 28.10. ENHANCED PENALTY FOR CERTAIN MISDEMEANORS OR
54	54	STATE JAIL FELONIES. The punishment for an offense under this
55	55	chapter that is punishable as a misdemeanor or a state jail felony
56	56	is increased to the punishment for a felony of the third degree if
57	57	it is shown on the trial of the offense that the actor committed the
58	58	offense in the course of or for the purpose of:
59	59	(1) intentionally avoiding a federal or state law
60	60	enforcement checkpoint; or
61	61	(2) engaging in conduct constituting an offense under
62	62	Section 38.04.
63	63	SECTION 4. Section 30.02, Penal Code, is amended by
64	64	amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-2) to read as
65	65	follows:
66	66	(c) Except as provided in Subsection (c-1), (c-2), or (d),
67	67	an offense under this section is a:
68	68	(1) state jail felony if committed in a building other
69	69	than a habitation; or
70	70	(2) felony of the second degree if committed in a
71	71	habitation.
72	72	(c-2) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
73	73	degree if:
74	74	(1) the premises are a building other than a
75	75	habitation; and
76	76	(2) it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
77	77	actor committed the offense in the course of or for the purpose of
78	78	intentionally avoiding a federal or state law enforcement
79	79	checkpoint.
80	80	SECTION 5. Section 30.04(d), Penal Code, is amended to read
81	81	as follows:
82	82	(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
83	83	except that:
84	84	(1) the offense is a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum
85	85	term of confinement of six months if it is shown on the trial of the
86	86	offense that the defendant has been previously convicted of an
87	87	offense under this section;
88	88	(2) the offense is a state jail felony if:
89	89	(A) it is shown on the trial of the offense that
90	90	the defendant has been previously convicted two or more times of an
91	91	offense under this section; or
92	92	(B) the vehicle or part of the vehicle broken
93	93	into or entered is a rail car; and
94	94	(3) the offense is a felony of the third degree if:
95	95	(A) the vehicle broken into or entered is owned
96	96	or operated by a wholesale distributor of prescription drugs[;] and
97	97	[(B)] the actor breaks into or enters that
98	98	vehicle with the intent to commit theft of a controlled substance;
99	99	or
100	100	(B) it is shown on the trial of the offense that
101	101	the actor committed the offense in the course of or for the purpose
102	102	of intentionally avoiding a federal or state law enforcement
103	103	checkpoint.
104	104	SECTION 6. Section 30.05(d), Penal Code, as amended by H.B.
105	105	1927 and H.B. 1540, Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session,
106	106	2021, and effective September 1, 2021, is reenacted and amended to
107	107	read as follows:
108	108	(d) Subject to Subsection (d-3), an offense under this
109	109	section is:
110	110	(1) a Class B misdemeanor, except as provided by
111	111	Subdivisions (2), [and] (3), and (4);
112	112	(2) a Class C misdemeanor, except as provided by
113	113	Subdivisions [Subdivision] (3) and (4), if the offense is
114	114	committed:
115	115	(A) on agricultural land and within 100 feet of
116	116	the boundary of the land; or
117	117	(B) on residential land and within 100 feet of a
118	118	protected freshwater area; [and]
119	119	(3) a Class A misdemeanor, except as provided by
120	120	Subdivision (4), if:
121	121	(A) the offense is committed:
122	122	(i) in a habitation or a shelter center;
123	123	(ii) on a Superfund site; or
124	124	(iii) on or in a critical infrastructure
125	125	facility;
126	126	(B) the offense is committed on or in property of
127	127	an institution of higher education and it is shown on the trial of
128	128	the offense that the person has previously been convicted of:
129	129	(i) an offense under this section relating
130	130	to entering or remaining on or in property of an institution of
131	131	higher education; or
132	132	(ii) an offense under Section 51.204(b)(1),
133	133	Education Code, relating to trespassing on the grounds of an
134	134	institution of higher education;
135	135	(C) the person carries a deadly weapon during the
136	136	commission of the offense; or
137	137	(D) the offense is committed on the property of
138	138	or within a general residential operation operating as a
139	139	residential treatment center; and
140	140	(4) a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the
141	141	trial of the offense that the defendant committed the offense in the
142	142	course of or for the purpose of intentionally avoiding a federal or
143	143	state law enforcement checkpoint.
144	144	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
145	145	an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
146	146	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
147	147	by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
148	148	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
149	149	this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
150	150	this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that
151	151	date.
152	152	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
153	153	last day of the legislative session.