Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2346 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Springer S.B. No. 2346
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to certain defenses to prosecution involving the
7	7	justifiable use of force or threat of force.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 9.04, Penal Code, is amended to read as
10	10	follows:
11	11	Sec. 9.04. THREATS AS JUSTIFIABLE FORCE. The threat of
12	12	force is justified when the use of force is justified by this
13	13	chapter. For purposes of this section, a threat to cause death or
14	14	serious bodily injury by the exhibition [production] of a weapon or
15	15	otherwise, as long as the actor's purpose is limited to creating an
16	16	apprehension that the actor [he] will use deadly force if
17	17	necessary, does not constitute the use of deadly force.
18	18	SECTION 2. Section 9.31(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
19	19	as follows:
20	20	(a) Except as provided in Subsection (b), a person is
21	21	justified in using force against another when and to the degree the
22	22	actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to
23	23	protect the actor against the other's use or attempted use of
24	24	unlawful force. The actor's belief that the force was immediately
25	25	necessary as described by this subsection is presumed to be
26	26	reasonable if the actor:
27	27	(1) knew or had reason to believe that the person
28	28	against whom the force was used:
29	29	(A) unlawfully and with force entered, or was
30	30	attempting to enter unlawfully and with force, the actor's occupied
31	31	habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment;
32	32	(B) unlawfully and with force removed, or was
33	33	attempting to remove unlawfully and with force, the actor from the
34	34	actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment; or
35	35	(C) was committing or attempting to commit:
36	36	(i) aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual
37	37	assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated
38	38	robbery; or
39	39	(ii) arson, if the property intended to be
40	40	damaged or destroyed was an occupied building, an occupied
41	41	habitation, or an occupied vehicle;
42	42	(2) did not provoke the person against whom the force
43	43	was used; and
44	44	(3) was not otherwise engaged in criminal activity,
45	45	other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or
46	46	ordinance regulating traffic at the time the force was used.
47	47	SECTION 3. Section 9.32(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
48	48	as follows:
49	49	(a) A person is justified in using deadly force against
50	50	another:
51	51	(1) if the actor would be justified in using force
52	52	against the other under Section 9.31; and
53	53	(2) when and to the degree the actor reasonably
54	54	believes the deadly force is immediately necessary:
55	55	(A) to protect the actor against the other's use
56	56	or attempted use of unlawful deadly force; or
57	57	(B) to prevent the other's imminent commission
58	58	of:
59	59	(i) aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual
60	60	assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated
61	61	robbery; or
62	62	(ii) arson, if the property intended to be
63	63	damaged or destroyed was an occupied building, an occupied
64	64	habitation, or an occupied vehicle.
65	65	SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
66	66	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
67	67	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
68	68	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
69	69	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
70	70	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
71	71	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
72	72	before that date.
73	73	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.