Texas 2021 - 87th 3rd C.S.

Texas House Bill HB141 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87S30423 JRR-D
2	2	By: Spiller H.B. No. 141
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, is amended by adding
13	13	Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
14	14	(b-1) For purposes of Subsection (a)(1)(A), the actor is
15	15	presumed to have acted knowingly and with the intent to conceal the
16	16	individual being transported from a peace officer or special
17	17	investigator if in the course of committing the offense the actor
18	18	intentionally avoided a federal or state law enforcement
19	19	checkpoint.
20	20	SECTION 2. Section 22.01(b-1), Penal Code, is amended to
21	21	read as follows:
22	22	(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), an offense under
23	23	Subsection (a)(1) is a felony of the third degree if:
24	24	(1) it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
25	25	actor committed the offense in the course of or for the purpose of
26	26	intentionally avoiding a federal or state law enforcement
27	27	checkpoint; or
28	28	(2) the offense is committed:
29	29	(A) [(1)] while the actor is committed to a civil
30	30	commitment facility; and
31	31	(B) [(2)] against:
32	32	(i) [(A)] an officer or employee of the
33	33	Texas Civil Commitment Office:
34	34	(a) [(i)] while the officer or
35	35	employee is lawfully discharging an official duty at a civil
36	36	commitment facility; or
37	37	(b) [(ii)] in retaliation for or on
38	38	account of an exercise of official power or performance of an
39	39	official duty by the officer or employee; or
40	40	(ii) [(B)] a person who contracts with the
41	41	state to perform a service in a civil commitment facility or an
42	42	employee of that person:
43	43	(a) [(i)] while the person or
44	44	employee is engaged in performing a service within the scope of the
45	45	contract, if the actor knows the person or employee is authorized by
46	46	the state to provide the service; or
47	47	(b) [(ii)] in retaliation for or on
48	48	account of the person's or employee's performance of a service
49	49	within the scope of the contract.
50	50	SECTION 3. Chapter 28, Penal Code, is amended by adding
51	51	Section 28.10 to read as follows:
52	52	Sec. 28.10. ENHANCED PENALTY FOR CERTAIN MISDEMEANORS OR
53	53	STATE JAIL FELONIES. The punishment for an offense under this
54	54	chapter that is punishable as a misdemeanor or a state jail felony
55	55	is increased to the punishment for a felony of the third degree if
56	56	it is shown on the trial of the offense that the actor committed the
57	57	offense in the course of or for the purpose of:
58	58	(1) intentionally avoiding a federal or state law
59	59	enforcement checkpoint; or
60	60	(2) engaging in conduct constituting an offense under
61	61	Section 38.04.
62	62	SECTION 4. Section 30.02, Penal Code, is amended by
63	63	amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-2) to read as
64	64	follows:
65	65	(c) Except as provided in Subsection (c-1), (c-2), or (d),
66	66	an offense under this section is a:
67	67	(1) state jail felony if committed in a building other
68	68	than a habitation; or
69	69	(2) felony of the second degree if committed in a
70	70	habitation.
71	71	(c-2) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
72	72	degree if:
73	73	(1) the premises are a building other than a
74	74	habitation; and
75	75	(2) it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
76	76	actor committed the offense in the course of or for the purpose of
77	77	intentionally avoiding a federal or state law enforcement
78	78	checkpoint.
79	79	SECTION 5. Section 30.04(d), Penal Code, is amended to read
80	80	as follows:
81	81	(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
82	82	except that:
83	83	(1) the offense is a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum
84	84	term of confinement of six months if it is shown on the trial of the
85	85	offense that the defendant has been previously convicted of an
86	86	offense under this section;
87	87	(2) the offense is a state jail felony if:
88	88	(A) it is shown on the trial of the offense that
89	89	the defendant has been previously convicted two or more times of an
90	90	offense under this section; or
91	91	(B) the vehicle or part of the vehicle broken
92	92	into or entered is a rail car; and
93	93	(3) the offense is a felony of the third degree if:
94	94	(A) the vehicle broken into or entered is owned
95	95	or operated by a wholesale distributor of prescription drugs[;] and
96	96	[(B)] the actor breaks into or enters that
97	97	vehicle with the intent to commit theft of a controlled substance;
98	98	or
99	99	(B) it is shown on the trial of the offense that
100	100	the actor committed the offense in the course of or for the purpose
101	101	of intentionally avoiding a federal or state law enforcement
102	102	checkpoint.
103	103	SECTION 6. Section 30.05(d), Penal Code, is amended to read
104	104	as follows:
105	105	(d) Subject to Subsection (d-3), an offense under this
106	106	section is:
107	107	(1) a Class B misdemeanor, except as provided by
108	108	Subdivisions (2), [and] (3), and (4);
109	109	(2) a Class C misdemeanor, except as provided by
110	110	Subdivisions [Subdivision] (3) and (4), if the offense is
111	111	committed:
112	112	(A) on agricultural land and within 100 feet of
113	113	the boundary of the land; or
114	114	(B) on residential land and within 100 feet of a
115	115	protected freshwater area; [and]
116	116	(3) a Class A misdemeanor, except as provided by
117	117	Subdivision (4), if:
118	118	(A) the offense is committed:
119	119	(i) in a habitation or a shelter center;
120	120	(ii) on a Superfund site; or
121	121	(iii) on or in a critical infrastructure
122	122	facility;
123	123	(B) the offense is committed on or in property of
124	124	an institution of higher education and it is shown on the trial of
125	125	the offense that the person has previously been convicted of:
126	126	(i) an offense under this section relating
127	127	to entering or remaining on or in property of an institution of
128	128	higher education; or
129	129	(ii) an offense under Section 51.204(b)(1),
130	130	Education Code, relating to trespassing on the grounds of an
131	131	institution of higher education;
132	132	(C) the person carries a deadly weapon during the
133	133	commission of the offense; or
134	134	(D) the offense is committed on the property of
135	135	or within a general residential operation operating as a
136	136	residential treatment center; and
137	137	(4) a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the
138	138	trial of the offense that the defendant committed the offense in the
139	139	course of or for the purpose of intentionally avoiding a federal or
140	140	state law enforcement checkpoint.
141	141	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
142	142	an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
143	143	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
144	144	by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
145	145	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
146	146	this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
147	147	this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that
148	148	date.
149	149	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
150	150	last day of the legislative session.