Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2599 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R2942 JSC-D
2	2	By: Davis H.B. No. 2599
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to prohibiting the possession of a firearm by a person in a
8	8	criminal street gang; creating a criminal offense; increasing
9	9	criminal penalties; changing eligibility for community
10	10	supervision.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 46.04, Penal Code, is amended by
13	13	amending Subsections (a-1) and (e) and adding Subsection (a-2) to
14	14	read as follows:
15	15	(a-1) A person who is a member of a criminal street gang, as
16	16	defined by Section 71.01, commits an offense if the person
17	17	possesses a firearm [intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly
18	18	carries on or about his or her person a handgun in a motor vehicle or
19	19	watercraft].
20	20	(a-2) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
21	21	Subsection (a-1) that:
22	22	(1) the person's information is not included in the
23	23	intelligence database under Chapter 67, Code of Criminal Procedure;
24	24	or
25	25	(2) the person's information is included in the
26	26	intelligence database under Chapter 67, Code of Criminal Procedure,
27	27	and a district court made a finding under Article 67.203(c) of that
28	28	code that:
29	29	(A) reasonable suspicion does not exist to
30	30	believe that the information is accurate; or
31	31	(B) inclusion of the information in the database
32	32	does not comply with the submission criteria under Article
33	33	67.054(b), Code of Criminal Procedure.
34	34	(e) An offense under Subsection (a) is a felony of the third
35	35	degree. An offense under Subsection (a-1) is a felony of the second
36	36	degree. An offense under Subsection [(a-1),] (b)[,] or (c) is a
37	37	Class A misdemeanor.
38	38	SECTION 2. Section 71.02(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
39	39	as follows:
40	40	(a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to
41	41	establish, maintain, or participate in a combination or in the
42	42	profits of a combination or as a member of a criminal street gang,
43	43	the person commits or conspires to commit one or more of the
44	44	following:
45	45	(1) murder, capital murder, arson, aggravated
46	46	robbery, robbery, burglary, theft, aggravated kidnapping,
47	47	kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, sexual
48	48	assault, continuous sexual abuse of young child or disabled
49	49	individual, solicitation of a minor, forgery, deadly conduct,
50	50	assault punishable as a Class A misdemeanor, burglary of a motor
51	51	vehicle, or unauthorized use of a motor vehicle;
52	52	(2) any gambling offense punishable as a Class A
53	53	misdemeanor;
54	54	(3) promotion of prostitution, aggravated promotion
55	55	of prostitution, or compelling prostitution;
56	56	(4) unlawful manufacture, transportation, repair, or
57	57	sale of firearms or prohibited weapons;
58	58	(5) unlawful manufacture, delivery, dispensation, or
59	59	distribution of a controlled substance or dangerous drug, or
60	60	unlawful possession of a controlled substance or dangerous drug
61	61	through forgery, fraud, misrepresentation, or deception;
62	62	(5-a) causing the unlawful delivery, dispensation, or
63	63	distribution of a controlled substance or dangerous drug in
64	64	violation of Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations Code;
65	65	(6) any unlawful wholesale promotion or possession of
66	66	any obscene material or obscene device with the intent to wholesale
67	67	promote the same;
68	68	(7) any offense under Subchapter B, Chapter 43,
69	69	depicting or involving conduct by or directed toward a child
70	70	younger than 18 years of age;
71	71	(8) any felony offense under Chapter 32;
72	72	(9) any offense under Chapter 36;
73	73	(10) any offense under Chapter 34, 35, or 35A;
74	74	(11) any offense under Section 37.11(a);
75	75	(12) any offense under Chapter 20A;
76	76	(13) any offense under Section 37.10;
77	77	(14) any offense under Section 38.06, 38.07, 38.09, or
78	78	38.11;
79	79	(15) any offense under Section 42.10;
80	80	(16) any offense under Section 46.04(a-1),
81	81	46.06(a)(1), or 46.14;
82	82	(17) any offense under Section 20.05 or 20.06;
83	83	(18) any offense under Section 16.02; or
84	84	(19) any offense classified as a felony under the Tax
85	85	Code.
86	86	SECTION 3. Article 42A.054(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
87	87	is amended to read as follows:
88	88	(a) Article 42A.053 does not apply to a defendant adjudged
89	89	guilty of an offense under:
90	90	(1) Section 15.03, Penal Code, if the offense is
91	91	punishable as a felony of the first degree;
92	92	(2) Section 19.02, Penal Code (Murder);
93	93	(3) Section 19.03, Penal Code (Capital Murder);
94	94	(4) Section 20.04, Penal Code (Aggravated
95	95	Kidnapping);
96	96	(5) Section 20A.02, Penal Code (Trafficking of
97	97	Persons);
98	98	(6) Section 20A.03, Penal Code (Continuous
99	99	Trafficking of Persons);
100	100	(7) Section 21.11, Penal Code (Indecency with a
101	101	Child);
102	102	(8) Section 22.011, Penal Code (Sexual Assault);
103	103	(9) Section 22.021, Penal Code (Aggravated Sexual
104	104	Assault);
105	105	(10) Section 22.04(a)(1), Penal Code (Injury to a
106	106	Child, Elderly Individual, or Disabled Individual), if:
107	107	(A) the offense is punishable as a felony of the
108	108	first degree; and
109	109	(B) the victim of the offense is a child;
110	110	(11) Section 29.03, Penal Code (Aggravated Robbery);
111	111	(12) Section 30.02, Penal Code (Burglary), if:
112	112	(A) the offense is punishable under Subsection
113	113	(d) of that section; and
114	114	(B) the actor committed the offense with the
115	115	intent to commit a felony under Section 21.02, 21.11, 22.011,
116	116	22.021, or 25.02, Penal Code;
117	117	(13) Section 43.04, Penal Code (Aggravated Promotion
118	118	of Prostitution);
119	119	(14) Section 43.05, Penal Code (Compelling
120	120	Prostitution);
121	121	(15) Section 43.25, Penal Code (Sexual Performance by
122	122	a Child);
123	123	(15-a) Section 46.04(a-1), Penal Code;
124	124	(16) Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, for which
125	125	punishment is increased under:
126	126	(A) Section 481.140 of that code (Use of Child in
127	127	Commission of Offense); or
128	128	(B) Section 481.134(c), (d), (e), or (f) of that
129	129	code (Drug-free Zones) if it is shown that the defendant has been
130	130	previously convicted of an offense for which punishment was
131	131	increased under any of those subsections; or
132	132	(17) Section 481.1123, Health and Safety Code
133	133	(Manufacture or Delivery of Substance in Penalty Group 1-B), if the
134	134	offense is punishable under Subsection (d), (e), or (f) of that
135	135	section.
136	136	SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
137	137	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
138	138	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
139	139	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
140	140	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
141	141	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
142	142	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
143	143	before that date.
144	144	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.