| 1 | 1 | | 88R1197 CJD-F |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | By: Metcalf, Cook, A. Johnson of Harris, H.B. No. 513 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | Canales, Vasut, et al. |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | relating to the manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | or marihuana causing death or serious bodily injury; creating a |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | criminal offense; increasing a criminal penalty. |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Section 481.122(c), Health and Safety Code, is |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | amended to read as follows: |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | (c) An offense under this section is a felony of the second |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | degree, except that the offense is a felony of the first degree if |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person to whom the |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | actor delivered the controlled substance or marihuana died or |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | suffered serious bodily injury as a result of injecting, ingesting, |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | inhaling, or introducing into the person's body any amount of the |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | controlled substance or marihuana manufactured or delivered by the |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | actor, regardless of whether the controlled substance or marihuana |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | was used by itself or with another substance, including a drug, |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | adulterant, or dilutant. |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 2. Section 481.141, Health and Safety Code, is |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | amended to read as follows: |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | Sec. 481.141. OFFENSE: MANUFACTURE OR DELIVERY OF |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE CAUSING DEATH OR SERIOUS BODILY INJURY. (a) A |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | person commits an offense if the person knowingly manufactures or |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | delivers a controlled substance in violation of this chapter and |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | [If at the guilt or innocence phase of the trial of an offense |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | described by Subsection (b), the judge or jury, whichever is the |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | trier of fact, determines beyond a reasonable doubt that] a person |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | dies [died] or suffers [suffered] serious bodily injury as a result |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | of injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or introducing into the person's |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | body any amount of the controlled substance manufactured or |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | delivered by the actor [defendant], regardless of whether the |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | controlled substance was used by itself or with another substance, |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | including a drug, adulterant, or dilutant[, the punishment for the |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | offense is increased by one degree]. |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | (b) An offense under this section is: |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | (1) [This section applies to an offense otherwise |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | punishable as] a [state jail felony,] felony of the third degree if |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | the commission of the offense resulted in serious bodily injury to a |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | person; or |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | (2) a [, or] felony of the second degree if the |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | commission of the offense resulted in the death of a person [under |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | Section 481.112, 481.1121, 481.1123, 481.113, 481.114, or |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 481.122]. |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | (c) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | the actor's conduct in manufacturing or delivering the controlled |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | substance was authorized under this chapter or other state or |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | federal law. |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | (d) If conduct constituting an offense under this section |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | also constitutes an offense under another section of this chapter |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | or the Penal Code, the actor may be prosecuted under either section |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | or both sections. |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | (e) Notwithstanding Article 42.08, Code of Criminal |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | Procedure, if [punishment for] a defendant is convicted of an |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | offense [increased] under this section, the court may not order the |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | sentence for the offense to run concurrently with any other |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | sentence the court imposes on the defendant. |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of |
|---|
| 68 | 68 | | this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
|---|
| 69 | 69 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
|---|