H.B. No. 55
AN ACT
relating to the punishment for the criminal offense of indecent
assault; increasing a criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 22.012, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
except that the offense is:
(1) a state jail felony if it is shown on the trial of
the offense that:
(A) the defendant has been previously convicted
of an offense under this section, other than an offense punishable
under Paragraph (B); or
(B) the defendant is a health care services
provider or a mental health services provider and the act is:
(i) committed during the course of
providing a treatment or service to the victim; and
(ii) beyond the scope of generally accepted
practices for the treatment or service; or
(2) a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the
trial of the offense that the defendant has been previously
convicted of an offense under this section that is punishable under
Subdivision (1)(B).
(d) In this section, "health care services provider" and
"mental health services provider" have the meanings assigned by
Section 22.011.
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 55 was passed by the House on April
27, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 147, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 55 on May 26, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 0, 1
present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 55 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 24, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor