87S20036 JRR-D
By: Leman H.B. No. 154
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution and punishment of certain criminal
offenses committed in the course of or for the purpose of avoiding
certain law enforcement checkpoints or evading an arrest or
detention; increasing criminal penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 20.05, Penal Code, as effective
September 1, 2021, is amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
follows:
(b-1) For purposes of Subsection (a)(1)(A), the actor is
presumed to have acted knowingly and with the intent to conceal the
individual being transported from a peace officer or special
investigator if in the course of committing the offense the actor
intentionally avoided a federal or state law enforcement
checkpoint.
SECTION 2. Section 22.01(b-1), Penal Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), an offense under
Subsection (a)(1) is a felony of the third degree if:
(1) it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
actor committed the offense in the course of or for the purpose of
intentionally avoiding a federal or state law enforcement
checkpoint; or
(2) the offense is committed:
(A) [(1)] while the actor is committed to a civil
commitment facility; and
(B) [(2)] against:
(i) [(A)] an officer or employee of the
Texas Civil Commitment Office:
(a) [(i)] while the officer or
employee is lawfully discharging an official duty at a civil
commitment facility; or
(b) [(ii)] in retaliation for or on
account of an exercise of official power or performance of an
official duty by the officer or employee; or
(ii) [(B)] a person who contracts with the
state to perform a service in a civil commitment facility or an
employee of that person:
(a) [(i)] while the person or
employee is engaged in performing a service within the scope of the
contract, if the actor knows the person or employee is authorized by
the state to provide the service; or
(b) [(ii)] in retaliation for or on
account of the person's or employee's performance of a service
within the scope of the contract.
SECTION 3. Chapter 28, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Section 28.10 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.10. ENHANCED PENALTY FOR CERTAIN MISDEMEANORS OR
STATE JAIL FELONIES. The punishment for an offense under this
chapter that is punishable as a misdemeanor or a state jail felony
is increased to the punishment for a felony of the third degree if
it is shown on the trial of the offense that the actor committed the
offense in the course of or for the purpose of:
(1) intentionally avoiding a federal or state law
enforcement checkpoint; or
(2) engaging in conduct constituting an offense under
Section 38.04.
SECTION 4. Section 30.02, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-2) to read as
follows:
(c) Except as provided in Subsection (c-1), (c-2), or (d),
an offense under this section is a:
(1) state jail felony if committed in a building other
than a habitation; or
(2) felony of the second degree if committed in a
habitation.
(c-2) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
degree if:
(1) the premises are a building other than a
habitation; and
(2) it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
actor committed the offense in the course of or for the purpose of
intentionally avoiding a federal or state law enforcement
checkpoint.
SECTION 5. Section 30.04(d), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
except that:
(1) the offense is a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum
term of confinement of six months if it is shown on the trial of the
offense that the defendant has been previously convicted of an
offense under this section;
(2) the offense is a state jail felony if:
(A) it is shown on the trial of the offense that
the defendant has been previously convicted two or more times of an
offense under this section; or
(B) the vehicle or part of the vehicle broken
into or entered is a rail car; and
(3) the offense is a felony of the third degree if:
(A) the vehicle broken into or entered is owned
or operated by a wholesale distributor of prescription drugs[;] and
[(B)] the actor breaks into or enters that
vehicle with the intent to commit theft of a controlled substance;
or
(B) it is shown on the trial of the offense that
the actor committed the offense in the course of or for the purpose
of intentionally avoiding a federal or state law enforcement
checkpoint.
SECTION 6. Section 30.05(d), Penal Code, as amended by H.B.
1927 and H.B. 1540, Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session,
2021, and effective September 1, 2021, is reenacted and amended to
read as follows:
(d) Subject to Subsection (d-3), an offense under this
section is:
(1) a Class B misdemeanor, except as provided by
Subdivisions (2), [and] (3), and (4);
(2) a Class C misdemeanor, except as provided by
Subdivisions [Subdivision] (3) and (4), if the offense is
committed:
(A) on agricultural land and within 100 feet of
the boundary of the land; or
(B) on residential land and within 100 feet of a
protected freshwater area; [and]
(3) a Class A misdemeanor, except as provided by
Subdivision (4), if:
(A) the offense is committed:
(i) in a habitation or a shelter center;
(ii) on a Superfund site; or
(iii) on or in a critical infrastructure
facility;
(B) the offense is committed on or in property of
an institution of higher education and it is shown on the trial of
the offense that the person has previously been convicted of:
(i) an offense under this section relating
to entering or remaining on or in property of an institution of
higher education; or
(ii) an offense under Section 51.204(b)(1),
Education Code, relating to trespassing on the grounds of an
institution of higher education;
(C) the person carries a deadly weapon during the
commission of the offense; or
(D) the offense is committed on the property of
or within a general residential operation operating as a
residential treatment center; and
(4) a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the
trial of the offense that the defendant committed the offense in the
course of or for the purpose of intentionally avoiding a federal or
state law enforcement checkpoint.
SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that
date.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
last day of the legislative session.