88R3859 MCF-D
By: Harless H.B. No. 1975
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to increasing the criminal penalties for certain repeat
sex offenders and to the admissibility of evidence of certain
extraneous offenses or acts in the prosecution of certain sexual
and assaultive offenses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.42(c), Penal Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (2-a) and amending Subdivision (4) to read as
follows:
(2-a) A defendant shall be punished by imprisonment in
the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life if the defendant
is convicted in the same trial of more than one offense under
Section 22.011 or 22.021 or of more than one count of the same
offense under either of those sections.
(4) Notwithstanding Subdivision (1) or (2), and except
as provided by Subdivision (3) for the trial of an offense under
Section 22.021 as described by that subdivision, a defendant shall
be punished by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice for life without parole if it is shown on the trial of the
applicable offense that:
(A) for an offense under Section 20A.03 or [of] a
sexually violent offense[,] committed by the defendant on or after
the defendant's 18th birthday, [that] the defendant has previously
been finally convicted of:
(i) [(A)] an offense under Section 20A.03
or [of] a sexually violent offense; or
(ii) [(B)] an offense that was committed
under the laws of another state and that contains elements that are
substantially similar to the elements of an offense under Section
20A.03 or [of] a sexually violent offense; or
(B) for an offense under Section 22.011 or
22.021:
(i) the defendant has previously been
finally convicted of two offenses under Section 22.011 or 22.021;
and
(ii) the second previous conviction is for
an offense that occurred subsequent to the first previous
conviction having become final.
SECTION 2. Section 1, Article 38.37, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1. (a) Subsection (b) applies to a proceeding in the
prosecution of a defendant for an offense, or an attempt or
conspiracy to commit an offense, under the following provisions of
the Penal Code:
(1) if committed against a person of any [child under
17 years of] age:
(A) Chapter 21 (Sexual Offenses);
(B) Chapter 22 (Assaultive Offenses); or
(C) Section 25.02 (Prohibited Sexual Conduct);
or
(2) if committed against a person younger than 18
years of age:
(A) Section 43.25 (Sexual Performance by a
Child);
(B) Section 20A.02(a)(7) or (8); or
(C) Section 43.05(a)(2) (Compelling
Prostitution).
(b) Notwithstanding Rules 404 and 405, Texas Rules of
Evidence, evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts committed by
the defendant against the [child who is the] victim of the alleged
offense shall be admitted for its bearing on relevant matters,
including:
(1) the state of mind of the defendant and the victim
[child]; and
(2) the previous and subsequent relationship between
the defendant and the victim [child].
SECTION 3. (a) Section 12.42, Penal Code, as amended by this
Act, applies 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 subsection, an offense was committed
before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
occurred before that date.
(b) Section 1, Article 38.37, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
amended by this Act, applies to the admissibility of evidence in a
criminal proceeding that commences on or after the effective date
of this Act. The admissibility of evidence in a criminal proceeding
that commences before the effective date of this Act is governed by
the law in effect on the date the proceeding commenced, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.