Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4502 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	88R14369 MCF-D
2	2	By: Reynolds H.B. No. 4502
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to jury instructions regarding parole eligibility, to
8	8	certain conditions of bail and community supervision, and to the
9	9	early termination of community supervision and the dismissal and
10	10	discharge of deferred adjudication community supervision.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Article 17.41(d), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
13	13	amended to read as follows:
14	14	(d) To the extent that a condition imposed under this
15	15	article conflicts with an existing court order granting possession
16	16	of or access to a child, the condition imposed under this article
17	17	prevails for a period specified by the magistrate[, not to exceed 90
18	18	days].
19	19	SECTION 2. Section 4(a), Article 37.07, Code of Criminal
20	20	Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
21	21	(a) In the penalty phase of the trial of a felony case in
22	22	which the punishment is to be assessed by the jury rather than the
23	23	court, if the offense of which the jury has found the defendant
24	24	guilty is an offense under Section 71.02, Penal Code, other than an
25	25	offense punishable as a state jail felony under that section, an
26	26	offense under Section 71.023, Penal Code, or an offense listed in
27	27	Article 42A.054(a), or if the judgment contains an affirmative
28	28	finding under Article 42A.054(c) or (d), unless the defendant has
29	29	been convicted of an offense under Section 21.02, Penal Code, an
30	30	offense under Section 22.021, Penal Code, that is punishable under
31	31	Subsection (f) of that section, or a capital felony, the court shall
32	32	charge the jury in writing as follows:
33	33	"The length of time for which a defendant is imprisoned may be
34	34	reduced by the award of parole.
35	35	"Under the law applicable in this case, if the defendant is
36	36	sentenced to a term of imprisonment, the defendant will not become
37	37	eligible for parole until the actual time served equals one-half of
38	38	the sentence imposed or 30 years, whichever is less. If the
39	39	defendant was convicted of a second or third degree felony and is
40	40	sentenced to a term of less than four years, the defendant must
41	41	serve at least two years before the defendant is eligible for
42	42	parole. Eligibility for parole does not guarantee that parole will
43	43	be granted.
44	44	"It cannot accurately be predicted how the parole law might
45	45	be applied to this defendant if sentenced to a term of imprisonment,
46	46	because the application of that law will depend on decisions made by
47	47	parole authorities.
48	48	"You may consider the existence of the parole law. You are
49	49	not to consider the manner in which the parole law may be applied to
50	50	this particular defendant."
51	51	SECTION 3. Article 42A.111(b), Code of Criminal Procedure,
52	52	is amended to read as follows:
53	53	(b) The judge may dismiss the proceedings and discharge a
54	54	defendant before the expiration of the period of deferred
55	55	adjudication community supervision if, in the judge's opinion, the
56	56	best interest of society and the defendant will be served, except
57	57	that this subsection does not authorize the judge to [may not]
58	58	dismiss the proceedings and discharge a defendant charged with an
59	59	offense:
60	60	(1) under Section 21.12, 49.04, or 49.06, Penal Code;
61	61	(2) requiring the defendant to register as a sex
62	62	offender under Chapter 62; or
63	63	(3) punishable as a felony and:
64	64	(A) listed in Article 42A.054(a); or
65	65	(B) for which the judge finds that a deadly
66	66	weapon was used or exhibited during the commission of the offense or
67	67	during the immediate flight from the commission of the offense.
68	68	SECTION 4. Article 42A.503(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,
69	69	is amended to read as follows:
70	70	(c) To the extent that a condition imposed under this
71	71	article conflicts with an existing court order granting possession
72	72	of or access to a child, the condition imposed under this article
73	73	prevails for a period specified by the court granting community
74	74	supervision[, not to exceed 90 days].
75	75	SECTION 5. Article 42A.701(g), Code of Criminal Procedure,
76	76	is amended to read as follows:
77	77	(g) This article does not apply to a defendant convicted of:
78	78	(1) an offense under Section 21.12 or Sections
79	79	49.04-49.08, Penal Code;
80	80	(2) an offense the conviction of which requires
81	81	registration as a sex offender under Chapter 62; or
82	82	(3) a felony described by Article 42A.054.
83	83	SECTION 6. (a) Article 17.41, Code of Criminal Procedure,
84	84	as amended by this Act, applies only to a person who is arrested on
85	85	or after the effective date of this Act. A person arrested before
86	86	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
87	87	the date the person was arrested, and the former law is continued in
88	88	effect for that purpose.
89	89	(b) Articles 42A.111, 42A.503, and 42A.701, Code of
90	90	Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, apply only to a
91	91	defendant placed on community supervision or deferred adjudication
92	92	community supervision for an offense committed on or after the
93	93	effective date of this Act. A defendant placed on community
94	94	supervision or deferred adjudication community supervision for an
95	95	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
96	96	by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
97	97	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes
98	98	of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date
99	99	of this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that
100	100	date.
101	101	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.