89R4447 MEW-D
By: Shaheen H.B. No. 2181
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to increasing the criminal penalty for certain conduct
constituting the offense of solicitation of prostitution.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 43.021(b), Penal Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) An offense under Subsection (a) is a state jail felony,
except that the offense is:
(1) a felony of the third degree if:
(A) the actor has previously been convicted of an
offense under Subsection (a) or under Section 43.02(b), as that law
existed before September 1, 2021; or
(B) the person to whom the actor offers or agrees
to pay the fee for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct:
(i) is engaging in the sexual conduct as a
victim of an offense under Section 20A.02(a)(3), (4), (7), or (8),
regardless of whether the actor knows the person is a victim at the
time of the offense; and
(ii) is not a person described by
Subdivision (2)(A), (B), or (C); or
(2) a felony of the second degree if the person to whom
the actor offers or agrees to pay the fee for the purpose of
engaging in sexual conduct is:
(A) younger than 18 years of age, regardless of
whether the actor knows the age of the person at the time of the
offense;
(B) represented to the actor as being younger
than 18 years of age; or
(C) believed by the actor to be younger than 18
years of age.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.