88R13449 CJD-D
By: Lujan H.B. No. 3498
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the designation of fentanyl poisoning for purposes of
the death certificate and to the manufacture or delivery of a
controlled substance or marihuana causing death or serious bodily
injury; creating a criminal offense; increasing a criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 193.005, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:
(e-1) If a toxicology examination reveals a detectable
amount of a controlled substance listed in Penalty Group 1-B in the
body of the decedent, the medical certification on the death
certificate must include the presence of the substance and the term
"Fentanyl Poisoning." This subsection does not apply if the
decedent at the time of death had a valid prescription for the
controlled substance.
SECTION 2. Section 481.122(c), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the second
degree, except that the offense is a felony of the first degree if
it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person to whom the
actor delivered the controlled substance or marihuana died or
suffered serious bodily injury as a result of injecting, ingesting,
inhaling, or introducing into the person's body any amount of the
controlled substance or marihuana manufactured or delivered by the
actor, regardless of whether the controlled substance or marihuana
was used by itself or with another substance, including a drug,
adulterant, or dilutant.
SECTION 3. Section 481.141, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 481.141. OFFENSE: MANUFACTURE OR DELIVERY OF
CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE CAUSING DEATH OR SERIOUS BODILY INJURY. (a) A
person commits an offense if the person knowingly manufactures or
delivers a controlled substance in violation of this chapter and
[If at the guilt or innocence phase of the trial of an offense
described by Subsection (b), the judge or jury, whichever is the
trier of fact, determines beyond a reasonable doubt that] a person
dies [died] or suffers [suffered] serious bodily injury as a result
of injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or introducing into the person's
body any amount of the controlled substance manufactured or
delivered by the actor [defendant], regardless of whether the
controlled substance was used by itself or with another substance,
including a drug, adulterant, or dilutant[, the punishment for the
offense is increased by one degree].
(b) An offense under this section is:
(1) [This section applies to an offense otherwise
punishable as] a [state jail felony,] felony of the third degree if
the commission of the offense resulted in serious bodily injury to a
person; or
(2) a [, or] felony of the second degree if the
commission of the offense resulted in the death of a person [under
Section 481.112, 481.1121, 481.1123, 481.113, 481.114, or
481.122].
(c) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
the actor's conduct in manufacturing or delivering the controlled
substance was authorized under this chapter or other state or
federal law.
(d) If conduct constituting an offense under this section
also constitutes an offense under another section of this chapter
or the Penal Code, the actor may be prosecuted under either section
or both sections.
(e) Notwithstanding Article 42.08, Code of Criminal
Procedure, if [punishment for] a defendant is convicted of an
offense [increased] under this section, the court may not order the
sentence for the offense to run concurrently with any other
sentence the court imposes on the defendant.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act to Section
193.005, Health and Safety Code, applies only to a death that occurs
on or after the effective date of this Act, or a death that occurs
before that date but is discovered on or after the effective date of
this Act.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter
481, Health and Safety Code, 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.