Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4843 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	By: Holland, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Huffman) H.B. No. 4843
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 8, 2023;
3	3	May 11, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on State
4	4	Affairs; May 21, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable
5	5	Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0;
6	6	May 21, 2023, sent to printer.)
7	7	Click here to see the committee vote
8	8	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 4843 By: Hughes
9	9
10	10
11	11	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
12	12	AN ACT
13	13	relating to increasing the minimum term of imprisonment and
14	14	changing the eligibility for community supervision and parole for
15	15	certain felony offenses in which a firearm is used or exhibited, to
16	16	certain consequences on conviction of certain of those offenses,
17	17	and to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of unlawful
18	18	possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony.
19	19	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
20	20	SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Penal Code, is amended
21	21	by adding Section 12.502 to read as follows:
22	22	Sec. 12.502. PENALTY FOR CERTAIN FELONY OFFENSES COMMITTED
23	23	WITH FIREARM. (a) The minimum term of imprisonment for a first,
24	24	second, or third degree felony listed in Article 42A.054(a), Code
25	25	of Criminal Procedure, is increased to 10 years if an affirmative
26	26	finding has been entered in the judgment in the case under Article
27	27	42A.054(d), Code of Criminal Procedure.
28	28	(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a felony offense for
29	29	which the punishment otherwise required by law includes a minimum
30	30	term of imprisonment that exceeds 10 years.
31	31	SECTION 2. Section 46.04(e), Penal Code, is amended to read
32	32	as follows:
33	33	(e) An offense under Subsection (a) is a felony of the
34	34	second [third] degree. An offense under Subsection (a-1), (b), or
35	35	(c) is a Class A misdemeanor.
36	36	SECTION 3. Article 42.08, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
37	37	amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
38	38	(b-1) A judge sentencing a defendant convicted of an offense
39	39	that was committed while on community supervision granted under
40	40	Article 42A.055 and for which the minimum term of imprisonment was
41	41	increased under Section 12.502, Penal Code, shall order the
42	42	sentence for the offense to commence immediately on completion of
43	43	the sentence for the offense for which the defendant was placed on
44	44	community supervision.
45	45	SECTION 4. Article 42A.055, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
46	46	amended by adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
47	47	(c-1) If the jury recommends to the judge that the judge
48	48	place the defendant on community supervision for an offense for
49	49	which the minimum term of imprisonment for the offense is increased
50	50	under Section 12.502, Penal Code, the judge shall place the
51	51	defendant on community supervision for a period of 10 years.
52	52	SECTION 5. Article 42A.102(b), Code of Criminal Procedure,
53	53	is amended to read as follows:
54	54	(b) In all other cases, the judge may grant deferred
55	55	adjudication community supervision unless:
56	56	(1) the defendant is charged with an offense:
57	57	(A) under Section 20A.02, 20A.03, 49.045, 49.05,
58	58	49.065, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code;
59	59	(B) under Section 49.04 or 49.06, Penal Code,
60	60	and, at the time of the offense:
61	61	(i) the defendant held a commercial
62	62	driver's license or a commercial learner's permit; or
63	63	(ii) the defendant's alcohol concentration,
64	64	as defined by Section 49.01, Penal Code, was 0.15 or more;
65	65	(C) for which punishment may be increased under
66	66	Section 49.09, Penal Code;
67	67	(D) for which punishment may be increased under
68	68	Section 481.134(c), (d), (e), or (f), Health and Safety Code, if it
69	69	is shown that the defendant has been previously convicted of an
70	70	offense for which punishment was increased under any one of those
71	71	subsections; [or]
72	72	(E) that is punishable as a first, second, or
73	73	third degree felony listed in Article 42A.054(a), if the judge
74	74	finds that a firearm was used or exhibited during the commission of
75	75	the offense or during the immediate flight from the commission of
76	76	the offense; or
77	77	(F) under Section 481.1123, Health and Safety
78	78	Code, that is punishable under Subsection (d), (e), or (f) of that
79	79	section;
80	80	(2) the defendant:
81	81	(A) is charged with an offense under Section
82	82	21.11, 22.011, 22.021, 43.04, or 43.05, Penal Code, regardless of
83	83	the age of the victim, or a felony described by Article 42A.453(b),
84	84	other than a felony described by Subdivision (1)(A) or (3)(B) of
85	85	this subsection; and
86	86	(B) has previously been placed on community
87	87	supervision for an offense under Paragraph (A);
88	88	(3) the defendant is charged with an offense under:
89	89	(A) Section 21.02, Penal Code; or
90	90	(B) Section 22.021, Penal Code, that is
91	91	punishable under Subsection (f) of that section or under Section
92	92	12.42(c)(3) or (4), Penal Code; or
93	93	(4) the defendant is charged with an offense under
94	94	Section 19.02, Penal Code, except that the judge may grant deferred
95	95	adjudication community supervision on determining that the
96	96	defendant did not cause the death of the deceased, did not intend to
97	97	kill the deceased or another, and did not anticipate that a human
98	98	life would be taken.
99	99	SECTION 6. Section 508.145(d)(2), Government Code, is
100	100	amended to read as follows:
101	101	(2) An inmate described by Subdivision (1) is not
102	102	eligible for release on parole until the inmate's actual calendar
103	103	time served, without consideration of good conduct time, equals
104	104	one-half of the sentence or 30 calendar years, whichever is less,
105	105	but in no event is the inmate eligible for release on parole in less
106	106	than:
107	107	(A) 10 calendar years, for an inmate serving a
108	108	sentence for an offense for which the minimum term of imprisonment
109	109	was increased under Section 12.502, Penal Code; or
110	110	(B) two calendar years, for an inmate serving a
111	111	sentence for any other offense to which this subsection applies.
112	112	SECTION 7. The change in law made by this Act applies only
113	113	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
114	114	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
115	115	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
116	116	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
117	117	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
118	118	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
119	119	before that date.
120	120	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
121	121	* * * * *