| 1 | 1 | | 87S30490 TSS-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Hughes S.B. No. 48 |
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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 increasing the criminal penalty for committing certain |
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| 8 | 8 | | offenses relating to elections. |
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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 64.012(b), Election Code, as effective |
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| 11 | 11 | | December 2, 2021, is amended to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second |
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| 13 | 13 | | degree unless the person is convicted of an attempt. In that case, |
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| 14 | 14 | | the offense is a state jail felony [Class A misdemeanor]. |
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| 15 | 15 | | SECTION 2. Section 276.013(b), Election Code, as effective |
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| 16 | 16 | | December 2, 2021, is amended to read as follows: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, |
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| 18 | 18 | | unless[: |
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| 19 | 19 | | [(1)] the person committed the offense while acting in |
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| 20 | 20 | | the person's capacity as an elected official, in which case the |
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| 21 | 21 | | offense is a state jail felony[; or |
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| 22 | 22 | | [(2) the person is convicted of an attempt, in which |
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| 23 | 23 | | case the offense is a Class B misdemeanor]. |
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| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 25 | 25 | | an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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| 26 | 26 | | offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed |
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| 27 | 27 | | by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the |
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| 28 | 28 | | former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of |
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| 29 | 29 | | this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of |
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| 30 | 30 | | this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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| 31 | 31 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the |
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| 32 | 32 | | last day of the legislative session. |
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