Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB65 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R13510 JRR-F
2	2	By: Spiller, Guillen, Holland, H.B. No. 65
3	3	Bell of Kaufman, et al.
4	4	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 65:
5	5	By: Dean C.S.H.B. No. 65
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to the prosecution and punishment of certain criminal
11	11	offenses committed in the course of or for the purpose of avoiding
12	12	certain law enforcement checkpoints or evading an arrest or
13	13	detention; increasing criminal penalties.
14	14	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	15	SECTION 1. Section 20.05, Penal Code, is amended by adding
16	16	Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
17	17	(b-1) For purposes of Subsection (a)(1)(A), the actor is
18	18	presumed to have acted knowingly and with the intent to conceal the
19	19	individual being transported from a peace officer or special
20	20	investigator if in the course of committing the offense the actor
21	21	intentionally avoided a federal or state law enforcement
22	22	checkpoint.
23	23	SECTION 2. Section 22.01(b-1), Penal Code, is amended to
24	24	read as follows:
25	25	(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), an offense under
26	26	Subsection (a)(1) is a felony of the third degree if:
27	27	(1) it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
28	28	actor committed the offense in the course of or for the purpose of
29	29	intentionally avoiding a federal or state law enforcement
30	30	checkpoint; or
31	31	(2) the offense is committed:
32	32	(A) [(1)] while the actor is committed to a civil
33	33	commitment facility; and
34	34	(B) [(2)] against:
35	35	(i) [(A)] an officer or employee of the
36	36	Texas Civil Commitment Office:
37	37	(a) [(i)] while the officer or
38	38	employee is lawfully discharging an official duty at a civil
39	39	commitment facility; or
40	40	(b) [(ii)] in retaliation for or on
41	41	account of an exercise of official power or performance of an
42	42	official duty by the officer or employee; or
43	43	(ii) [(B)] a person who contracts with the
44	44	state to perform a service in a civil commitment facility or an
45	45	employee of that person:
46	46	(a) [(i)] while the person or
47	47	employee is engaged in performing a service within the scope of the
48	48	contract, if the actor knows the person or employee is authorized by
49	49	the state to provide the service; or
50	50	(b) [(ii)] in retaliation for or on
51	51	account of the person's or employee's performance of a service
52	52	within the scope of the contract.
53	53	SECTION 3. Chapter 28, Penal Code, is amended by adding
54	54	Section 28.10 to read as follows:
55	55	Sec. 28.10. ENHANCED PENALTY FOR CERTAIN MISDEMEANORS OR
56	56	STATE JAIL FELONIES. The punishment for an offense under this
57	57	chapter that is punishable as a misdemeanor or a state jail felony
58	58	is increased to the punishment for a felony of the third degree if
59	59	it is shown on the trial of the offense that the actor committed the
60	60	offense in the course of or for the purpose of:
61	61	(1) intentionally avoiding a federal or state law
62	62	enforcement checkpoint; or
63	63	(2) engaging in conduct constituting an offense under
64	64	Section 38.04.
65	65	SECTION 4. Section 30.02, Penal Code, is amended by
66	66	amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-2) to read as
67	67	follows:
68	68	(c) Except as provided in Subsection (c-1), (c-2), or (d),
69	69	an offense under this section is a:
70	70	(1) state jail felony if committed in a building other
71	71	than a habitation; or
72	72	(2) felony of the second degree if committed in a
73	73	habitation.
74	74	(c-2) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
75	75	degree if:
76	76	(1) the premises are a building other than a
77	77	habitation; and
78	78	(2) it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
79	79	actor committed the offense in the course of or for the purpose of
80	80	intentionally avoiding a federal or state law enforcement
81	81	checkpoint.
82	82	SECTION 5. Section 30.04(d), Penal Code, is amended to read
83	83	as follows:
84	84	(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
85	85	except that:
86	86	(1) the offense is a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum
87	87	term of confinement of six months if it is shown on the trial of the
88	88	offense that the defendant has been previously convicted of an
89	89	offense under this section;
90	90	(2) the offense is a state jail felony if:
91	91	(A) it is shown on the trial of the offense that
92	92	the defendant has been previously convicted two or more times of an
93	93	offense under this section; or
94	94	(B) the vehicle or part of the vehicle broken
95	95	into or entered is a rail car; and
96	96	(3) the offense is a felony of the third degree if:
97	97	(A) the vehicle broken into or entered is owned
98	98	or operated by a wholesale distributor of prescription drugs[;] and
99	99	[(B)] the actor breaks into or enters that
100	100	vehicle with the intent to commit theft of a controlled substance;
101	101	or
102	102	(B) it is shown on the trial of the offense that
103	103	the actor committed the offense in the course of or for the purpose
104	104	of intentionally avoiding a federal or state law enforcement
105	105	checkpoint.
106	106	SECTION 6. Section 30.05(d), Penal Code, is amended to read
107	107	as follows:
108	108	(d) Subject to Subsection (d-3), an offense under this
109	109	section is:
110	110	(1) a Class B misdemeanor, except as provided by
111	111	Subdivisions (2), [and] (3), and (4);
112	112	(2) a Class C misdemeanor, except as provided by
113	113	Subdivisions [Subdivision] (3) and (4), if the offense is
114	114	committed:
115	115	(A) on agricultural land and within 100 feet of
116	116	the boundary of the land; or
117	117	(B) on residential land and within 100 feet of a
118	118	protected freshwater area; [and]
119	119	(3) a Class A misdemeanor, except as provided by
120	120	Subdivision (4), if:
121	121	(A) the offense is committed:
122	122	(i) in a habitation or a shelter center;
123	123	(ii) on a Superfund site; or
124	124	(iii) on or in a critical infrastructure
125	125	facility;
126	126	(B) the offense is committed on or in property of
127	127	an institution of higher education and it is shown on the trial of
128	128	the offense that the person has previously been convicted of:
129	129	(i) an offense under this section relating
130	130	to entering or remaining on or in property of an institution of
131	131	higher education; or
132	132	(ii) an offense under Section 51.204(b)(1),
133	133	Education Code, relating to trespassing on the grounds of an
134	134	institution of higher education;
135	135	(C) the person carries a deadly weapon during the
136	136	commission of the offense; or
137	137	(D) the offense is committed on the property of
138	138	or within a general residential operation operating as a
139	139	residential treatment center; and
140	140	(4) a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the
141	141	trial of the offense that the defendant committed the offense in the
142	142	course of or for the purpose of intentionally avoiding a federal or
143	143	state law enforcement checkpoint.
144	144	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
145	145	an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
146	146	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
147	147	by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
148	148	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
149	149	this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
150	150	this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that
151	151	date.
152	152	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect July 1, 2023, if it
153	153	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
154	154	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
155	155	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for effect on that
156	156	date, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023.