H.B. No. 165
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of and punishment for an aggravated
assault occurring as part of a mass shooting; increasing a criminal
penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1.07(a), Penal Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (30-a) to read as follows:
(30-a) "Mass shooting" means a person's discharge of a
firearm to cause serious bodily injury or death, or to attempt to
cause serious bodily injury or death, to four or more persons:
(A) during the same criminal transaction; or
(B) during different criminal transactions but
pursuant to the same scheme or course of conduct.
SECTION 2. Section 3.03, Penal Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(a) When the accused is found guilty of more than one
offense arising out of the same criminal episode prosecuted in a
single criminal action, a sentence for each offense for which the
accused [he] has been found guilty shall be pronounced. Except as
provided by Subsections [Subsection] (b) and (c), the sentences
shall run concurrently.
(c) If in a single criminal action the accused is found
guilty of more than one offense under Section 22.02 that arises out
of the same criminal episode, the sentences run consecutively if
each sentence is for a conviction of an assault punishable as a
felony of the first degree under Section 22.02(b)(4).
SECTION 3. Section 3.04(c), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(c) The right to severance under this section does not apply
to a prosecution for offenses described by Section 3.03(b) or (c)
unless the court determines that the defendant or the state would be
unfairly prejudiced by a joinder of offenses, in which event the
judge may order the offenses to be tried separately or may order
other relief as justice requires.
SECTION 4. Section 22.02(b), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second
degree, except that the offense is a felony of the first degree if:
(1) the actor uses a deadly weapon during the
commission of the assault and causes serious bodily injury to a
person whose relationship to or association with the defendant is
described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code;
(2) regardless of whether the offense is committed
under Subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2), the offense is committed:
(A) by a public servant acting under color of the
servant's office or employment;
(B) against a person the actor knows is a public
servant while the public servant is lawfully discharging an
official duty, or in retaliation or on account of an exercise of
official power or performance of an official duty as a public
servant;
(C) in retaliation against or on account of the
service of another as a witness, prospective witness, informant, or
person who has reported the occurrence of a crime;
(D) against a person the actor knows is a process
server while the person is performing a duty as a process server; or
(E) against a person the actor knows is a
security officer while the officer is performing a duty as a
security officer; [or]
(3) the actor is in a motor vehicle, as defined by
Section 501.002, Transportation Code, and:
(A) knowingly discharges a firearm at or in the
direction of a habitation, building, or vehicle;
(B) is reckless as to whether the habitation,
building, or vehicle is occupied; and
(C) in discharging the firearm, causes serious
bodily injury to any person; or
(4) the actor commits the assault as part of a mass
shooting.
SECTION 5. 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 occurred before that date.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 165 was passed by the House on April
12, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 165 was passed by the Senate on May
17, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor