| 1 | 1 | | By: Hickland H.B. No. 1509 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 7 | 7 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 8 | | relating to the offense of failure to stop or report aggravated |
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| 9 | 9 | | sexual assault of a child; increasing a criminal penalty. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as Shannah's Law. |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 2. Section 38.17, Penal Code, is amended to read as |
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| 13 | 13 | | follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | Sec. 38.17. FAILURE TO STOP OR REPORT AGGRAVATED SEXUAL |
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| 15 | 15 | | ASSAULT OF CHILD. (a) A person [, other than a person who has a |
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| 16 | 16 | | relationship with a child described by Section 22.04(b),] commits |
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| 17 | 17 | | an offense if: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (1) the actor observes the commission or attempted |
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| 19 | 19 | | commission of an offense prohibited by Section 21.02 or |
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| 20 | 20 | | 22.021(a)(2)(B) under circumstances in which a reasonable person |
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| 21 | 21 | | would believe that an offense of a sexual or assaultive nature was |
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| 22 | 22 | | being committed or was about to be committed against the child; |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2) the actor fails to assist the child or immediately |
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| 24 | 24 | | report the commission of the offense to a peace officer or law |
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| 25 | 25 | | enforcement agency; and |
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| 26 | 26 | | (3) the actor could assist the child or immediately |
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| 27 | 27 | | report the commission of the offense without placing the actor in |
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| 28 | 28 | | danger of suffering serious bodily injury or death. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third |
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| 30 | 30 | | degree [Class A misdemeanor]. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (c) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this |
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| 32 | 32 | | section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor |
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| 33 | 33 | | may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both. |
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| 34 | 34 | | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 35 | 35 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 36 | 36 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 37 | 37 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 38 | 38 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 39 | 39 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 40 | 40 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 41 | 41 | | before that date. |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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