| 1 | 1 | | 89R2964 MZM-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Landgraf H.B. No. 268 |
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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 making certain |
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| 10 | 10 | | false reports and to restitution for emergency response costs |
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| 11 | 11 | | associated with those false reports. |
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| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Article 42.037(w), Code of Criminal Procedure, |
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| 14 | 14 | | is amended to read as follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (w) If a defendant is convicted of an offense under Section |
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| 16 | 16 | | 42.0601, Penal Code, or an offense punishable under Section |
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| 17 | 17 | | 42.06(b)(2), Penal Code, the court may order the defendant to make |
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| 18 | 18 | | restitution to an entity for the reasonable costs of the emergency |
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| 19 | 19 | | response by that entity resulting from the false report. |
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| 20 | 20 | | SECTION 2. Section 42.06(b), Penal Code, is amended to read |
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| 21 | 21 | | as follows: |
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| 22 | 22 | | (b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, |
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| 23 | 23 | | except that the offense is: |
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| 24 | 24 | | (1) a state jail felony if [unless] the false report is |
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| 25 | 25 | | of an emergency involving [a public or private institution of |
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| 26 | 26 | | higher education or involving a public primary or secondary |
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| 27 | 27 | | school,] public communications, public transportation, public |
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| 28 | 28 | | water, gas, or power supply or other public service; or |
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| 29 | 29 | | (2) a felony of the third degree if the false report is |
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| 30 | 30 | | of an emergency involving: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (A) a public or private institution of higher |
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| 32 | 32 | | education; or |
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| 33 | 33 | | (B) a public or private primary or secondary |
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| 34 | 34 | | school [, in which event the offense is a state jail felony]. |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 36 | 36 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 37 | 37 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 38 | 38 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 39 | 39 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 40 | 40 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 41 | 41 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was |
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| 42 | 42 | | committed before that date. |
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| 43 | 43 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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