88R1679 MEW-F
By: Meyer H.B. No. 2143
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the punishment for possession of child pornography;
increasing criminal penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 43.26, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as
follows:
(d) An offense under Subsection (a) is:
(1) a felony of the third degree if the person
possesses visual material that contains fewer than 100 visual
depictions of a child as described by Subsection (a)(1);
(2) [, except that the offense is:
[(1)] a felony of the second degree if [it is shown on
the trial of the offense that] the person possesses visual material
that contains 100 or more visual depictions of a child as described
by Subsection (a)(1) but fewer than 500 such depictions [has been
previously convicted one time of an offense under that subsection];
(3) [and
[(2)] a felony of the first degree if [it is shown on the
trial of the offense that] the person possesses visual material
that contains 500 or more visual depictions of a child as described
by Subsection (a)(1); or
(4) a felony of the first degree punishable by
imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life
or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than 25 years if it
is shown on the trial of the offense that, at the time of the
offense, the person was:
(A) an employee at a child-care facility or a
residential child-care facility, as those terms are defined by
Section 42.002, Human Resources Code;
(B) an employee at a residential treatment
facility established under Section 221.056, Human Resources Code;
(C) an employee at a shelter or facility that
serves youth and that receives state funds; or
(D) receiving state funds for the care of a child
depicted by the visual material [has been previously convicted two
or more times of an offense under that subsection].
(d-1) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under
Subsection (a) that the visual material depicted a child younger
than 10 years of age at the time the image of the child was made or
that the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense
under that subsection:
(1) an offense described for purposes of punishment by
Subsection (d)(1) or (2) is increased to the next higher category of
offense; or
(2) the minimum term of confinement for an offense
described for purposes of punishment by Subsection (d)(3) is
increased to 15 years.
SECTION 2. The change in law made 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 section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.