| 1 | 1 | | 89R4447 MEW-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Shaheen H.B. No. 2181 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to increasing the criminal penalty for certain conduct |
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| 10 | 10 | | constituting the offense of solicitation of prostitution. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Section 43.021(b), Penal Code, is amended to |
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| 13 | 13 | | read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (b) An offense under Subsection (a) is a state jail felony, |
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| 15 | 15 | | except that the offense is: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) a felony of the third degree if: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (A) the actor has previously been convicted of an |
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| 18 | 18 | | offense under Subsection (a) or under Section 43.02(b), as that law |
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| 19 | 19 | | existed before September 1, 2021; or |
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| 20 | 20 | | (B) the person to whom the actor offers or agrees |
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| 21 | 21 | | to pay the fee for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct: |
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| 22 | 22 | | (i) is engaging in the sexual conduct as a |
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| 23 | 23 | | victim of an offense under Section 20A.02(a)(3), (4), (7), or (8), |
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| 24 | 24 | | regardless of whether the actor knows the person is a victim at the |
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| 25 | 25 | | time of the offense; and |
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| 26 | 26 | | (ii) is not a person described by |
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| 27 | 27 | | Subdivision (2)(A), (B), or (C); or |
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| 28 | 28 | | (2) a felony of the second degree if the person to whom |
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| 29 | 29 | | the actor offers or agrees to pay the fee for the purpose of |
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| 30 | 30 | | engaging in sexual conduct is: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (A) younger than 18 years of age, regardless of |
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| 32 | 32 | | whether the actor knows the age of the person at the time of the |
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| 33 | 33 | | offense; |
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| 34 | 34 | | (B) represented to the actor as being younger |
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| 35 | 35 | | than 18 years of age; or |
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| 36 | 36 | | (C) believed by the actor to be younger than 18 |
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| 37 | 37 | | years of age. |
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| 38 | 38 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 39 | 39 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this |
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| 40 | 40 | | Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 41 | 41 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 42 | 42 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 43 | 43 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 44 | 44 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 45 | 45 | | before that date. |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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