Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB129 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	S.B. No. 129
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the prosecution and punishment for possession or
6	6	promotion of child pornography; increasing criminal penalties.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Article 12.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
9	9	amended to read as follows:
10	10	Art. 12.01. FELONIES. Except as provided in Article 12.03,
11	11	felony indictments may be presented within these limits, and not
12	12	afterward:
13	13	(1) no limitation:
14	14	(A) murder and manslaughter;
15	15	(B) sexual assault under Section 22.011(a)(2),
16	16	Penal Code, or aggravated sexual assault under Section
17	17	22.021(a)(1)(B), Penal Code;
18	18	(C) sexual assault, if:
19	19	(i) during the investigation of the offense
20	20	biological matter is collected and the matter:
21	21	(a) has not yet been subjected to
22	22	forensic DNA testing; or
23	23	(b) has been subjected to forensic DNA
24	24	testing and the testing results show that the matter does not match
25	25	the victim or any other person whose identity is readily
26	26	ascertained; or
27	27	(ii) probable cause exists to believe that
28	28	the defendant has committed the same or a similar sex offense
29	29	against five or more victims;
30	30	(D) continuous sexual abuse of young child or
31	31	disabled individual under Section 21.02, Penal Code;
32	32	(E) indecency with a child under Section 21.11,
33	33	Penal Code;
34	34	(F) an offense involving leaving the scene of an
35	35	accident under Section 550.021, Transportation Code, if the
36	36	accident resulted in the death of a person;
37	37	(G) trafficking of persons under Section
38	38	20A.02(a)(7) or (8), Penal Code;
39	39	(H) continuous trafficking of persons under
40	40	Section 20A.03, Penal Code; or
41	41	(I) compelling prostitution under Section
42	42	43.05(a)(2), Penal Code;
43	43	(2) ten years from the date of the commission of the
44	44	offense:
45	45	(A) theft of any estate, real, personal or mixed,
46	46	by an executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, with intent to
47	47	defraud any creditor, heir, legatee, ward, distributee,
48	48	beneficiary or settlor of a trust interested in such estate;
49	49	(B) theft by a public servant of government
50	50	property over which the public servant exercises control in the
51	51	public servant's official capacity;
52	52	(C) forgery or the uttering, using, or passing of
53	53	forged instruments;
54	54	(D) injury to an elderly or disabled individual
55	55	punishable as a felony of the first degree under Section 22.04,
56	56	Penal Code;
57	57	(E) sexual assault, except as provided by
58	58	Subdivision (1) or (7);
59	59	(F) arson;
60	60	(G) trafficking of persons under Section
61	61	20A.02(a)(1), (2), (3), or (4), Penal Code; or
62	62	(H) compelling prostitution under Section
63	63	43.05(a)(1), Penal Code;
64	64	(3) seven years from the date of the commission of the
65	65	offense:
66	66	(A) misapplication of fiduciary property or
67	67	property of a financial institution;
68	68	(B) fraudulent securing of document execution;
69	69	(C) a felony violation under Chapter 162, Tax
70	70	Code;
71	71	(D) false statement to obtain property or credit
72	72	under Section 32.32, Penal Code;
73	73	(E) money laundering;
74	74	(F) credit card or debit card abuse under Section
75	75	32.31, Penal Code;
76	76	(G) fraudulent use or possession of identifying
77	77	information under Section 32.51, Penal Code;
78	78	(H) exploitation of a child, elderly individual,
79	79	or disabled individual under Section 32.53, Penal Code;
80	80	(I) health care fraud under Section 35A.02, Penal
81	81	Code; [or]
82	82	(J) bigamy under Section 25.01, Penal Code,
83	83	except as provided by Subdivision (6); or
84	84	(K) possession or promotion of child pornography
85	85	under Section 43.26, Penal Code;
86	86	(4) five years from the date of the commission of the
87	87	offense:
88	88	(A) theft or robbery;
89	89	(B) except as provided by Subdivision (5),
90	90	kidnapping or burglary;
91	91	(C) injury to an elderly or disabled individual
92	92	that is not punishable as a felony of the first degree under Section
93	93	22.04, Penal Code;
94	94	(D) abandoning or endangering a child; or
95	95	(E) insurance fraud;
96	96	(5) if the investigation of the offense shows that the
97	97	victim is younger than 17 years of age at the time the offense is
98	98	committed, 20 years from the 18th birthday of the victim of one of
99	99	the following offenses:
100	100	(A) sexual performance by a child under Section
101	101	43.25, Penal Code;
102	102	(B) aggravated kidnapping under Section
103	103	20.04(a)(4), Penal Code, if the defendant committed the offense
104	104	with the intent to violate or abuse the victim sexually; or
105	105	(C) burglary under Section 30.02, Penal Code, if
106	106	the offense is punishable under Subsection (d) of that section and
107	107	the defendant committed the offense with the intent to commit an
108	108	offense described by Subdivision (1)(B) or (D) of this article or
109	109	Paragraph (B) of this subdivision;
110	110	(6) ten years from the 18th birthday of the victim of
111	111	the offense:
112	112	(A) trafficking of persons under Section
113	113	20A.02(a)(5) or (6), Penal Code;
114	114	(B) injury to a child under Section 22.04, Penal
115	115	Code; or
116	116	(C) bigamy under Section 25.01, Penal Code, if
117	117	the investigation of the offense shows that the person, other than
118	118	the legal spouse of the defendant, whom the defendant marries or
119	119	purports to marry or with whom the defendant lives under the
120	120	appearance of being married is younger than 18 years of age at the
121	121	time the offense is committed;
122	122	(7) two years from the date the offense was
123	123	discovered: sexual assault punishable as a state jail felony under
124	124	Section 22.011(f)(2), Penal Code; or
125	125	(8) three years from the date of the commission of the
126	126	offense: all other felonies.
127	127	SECTION 2. Section 43.26, Penal Code, is amended by
128	128	amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as
129	129	follows:
130	130	(d) An offense under Subsection (a) is:
131	131	(1) a felony of the third degree if the person
132	132	possesses visual material that contains fewer than 100 visual
133	133	depictions of a child as described by Subsection (a)(1);
134	134	(2) [, except that the offense is:
135	135	[(1)] a felony of the second degree if [it is shown on
136	136	the trial of the offense that] the person possesses visual material
137	137	that contains 100 or more visual depictions of a child as described
138	138	by Subsection (a)(1) but fewer than 500 such depictions [has been
139	139	previously convicted one time of an offense under that subsection];
140	140	(3) [and
141	141	[(2)] a felony of the first degree if [it is shown on the
142	142	trial of the offense that] the person possesses visual material
143	143	that contains 500 or more visual depictions of a child as described
144	144	by Subsection (a)(1); or
145	145	(4) a felony of the first degree punishable by
146	146	imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life
147	147	or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than 25 years if it
148	148	is shown on the trial of the offense that, at the time of the
149	149	offense, the person was:
150	150	(A) an employee at a child-care facility or a
151	151	residential child-care facility, as those terms are defined by
152	152	Section 42.002, Human Resources Code;
153	153	(B) an employee at a residential treatment
154	154	facility established under Section 221.056, Human Resources Code;
155	155	(C) an employee at a shelter or facility that
156	156	serves youth and that receives state funds; or
157	157	(D) receiving state funds for the care of a child
158	158	depicted by the visual material [has been previously convicted two
159	159	or more times of an offense under that subsection].
160	160	(d-1) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under
161	161	Subsection (a) that the visual material depicted a child younger
162	162	than 10 years of age at the time the image of the child was made or
163	163	that the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense
164	164	under that subsection:
165	165	(1) an offense described for purposes of punishment by
166	166	Subsection (d)(1) or (2) is increased to the next higher category of
167	167	offense; or
168	168	(2) the minimum term of confinement for an offense
169	169	described for purposes of punishment by Subsection (d)(3) is
170	170	increased to 15 years.
171	171	SECTION 3. Article 12.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
172	172	amended by this Act, does not apply to an offense if the prosecution
173	173	of that offense becomes barred by limitation before the effective
174	174	date of this Act. The prosecution of that offense remains barred as
175	175	if this Act had not taken effect.
176	176	SECTION 4. Section 43.26, Penal Code, as amended by this
177	177	Act, applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective
178	178	date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of
179	179	this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was
180	180	committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
181	181	purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed
182	182	before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
183	183	occurred before that date.
184	184	SECTION 5. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
185	185	over another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023,
186	186	relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
187	187	codes.
188	188	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
189	189	______________________________ ______________________________
190	190	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
191	191	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 129 passed the Senate on
192	192	April 20, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
193	193	______________________________
194	194	Secretary of the Senate
195	195	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 129 passed the House on
196	196	May 22, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0,
197	197	one present not voting.
198	198	______________________________
199	199	Chief Clerk of the House
200	200	Approved:
201	201	______________________________
202	202	Date
203	203	______________________________
204	204	Governor