Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB418 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R1695 CJD-D
2	2	By: Johnson H.B. No. 418
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to prosecution and punishment of certain criminal offenses
10	10	prohibiting sexually explicit visual material involving children
11	11	or other persons; increasing a criminal penalty.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 21.16(a)(5), Penal Code, is amended to
14	14	read as follows:
15	15	(5) "Visual material" means:
16	16	(A) any film, photograph, videotape, negative,
17	17	or slide or any photographic reproduction that contains or
18	18	incorporates in any manner any film, photograph, videotape,
19	19	negative, or slide; or
20	20	(B) any disk, diskette, or other physical medium,
21	21	or a file in any digital format, that allows an image to be
22	22	displayed on a computer or other video screen and any image
23	23	transmitted to a computer or other video screen by telephone line,
24	24	cable, satellite transmission, or other method.
25	25	SECTION 2. Section 43.26(b)(3), Penal Code, is amended to
26	26	read as follows:
27	27	(3) "Visual material" means:
28	28	(A) any film, photograph, videotape, negative,
29	29	or slide or any photographic reproduction that contains or
30	30	incorporates in any manner any film, photograph, videotape,
31	31	negative, or slide; or
32	32	(B) any disk, diskette, or other physical medium,
33	33	or a file in any digital format, that allows an image to be
34	34	displayed on a computer or other video screen and any image
35	35	transmitted to a computer or other video screen by telephone line,
36	36	cable, satellite transmission, or other method.
37	37	SECTION 3. Section 43.26(d), Penal Code, as amended by
38	38	Chapters 93 (S.B. 1527) and 1041 (S.B. 129), Acts of the 88th
39	39	Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, is reenacted and amended to
40	40	read as follows:
41	41	(d) An offense under Subsection (a) is[:
42	42	[(1)] a felony of the third degree [if the person
43	43	possesses visual material that contains fewer than 100 visual
44	44	depictions of a child as described by Subsection (a)(1);
45	45	[(2)], except that the offense is:
46	46	(1) a felony of the second degree if:
47	47	(A) it is shown on the trial of the offense that
48	48	the person [possesses visual material that contains 100 or more
49	49	visual depictions of a child as described by Subsection (a)(1) but
50	50	fewer than 500 such depictions] has been previously convicted one
51	51	time of an offense under that subsection; or
52	52	(B) the person possesses visual material that
53	53	contains 10 or more visual depictions of a child as described by
54	54	Subsection (a)(1) but fewer than 50 such depictions;
55	55	(2) [(3)] a felony of the first degree if:
56	56	(A) it is shown on the trial of the offense that
57	57	the person [possesses visual material that contains 500 or more
58	58	visual depictions of a child as described by Subsection (a)(1)] has
59	59	been previously convicted two or more times of an offense under that
60	60	subsection; or
61	61	(B) the person possesses visual material that
62	62	contains:
63	63	(i) 50 or more visual depictions of a child
64	64	as described by Subsection (a)(1); or
65	65	(ii) a videotape or film that visually
66	66	depicts conduct constituting an offense under Section
67	67	22.011(a)(2); or
68	68	(3) [(4)] a felony of the first degree punishable by
69	69	imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life
70	70	or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than 25 years if it
71	71	is shown on the trial of the offense that, at the time of the
72	72	offense, the person was:
73	73	(A) an employee at a child-care facility or a
74	74	residential child-care facility, as those terms are defined by
75	75	Section 42.002, Human Resources Code;
76	76	(B) an employee at a residential treatment
77	77	facility established under Section 221.056, Human Resources Code;
78	78	(C) an employee at a shelter or facility that
79	79	serves youth and that receives state funds; or
80	80	(D) receiving state funds for the care of a child
81	81	depicted by the visual material.
82	82	SECTION 4. Section 43.26(d-1), Penal Code, as added by
83	83	Chapter 1041 (S.B. 129), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular
84	84	Session, 2023, is amended to read as follows:
85	85	(d-1) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under
86	86	Subsection (a) that the visual material depicted a child younger
87	87	than 10 years of age at the time the image of the child was made [or
88	88	that the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense
89	89	under that subsection]:
90	90	(1) an offense described for purposes of punishment by
91	91	Subsection (d) as a felony of the second or third degree [(d)(1) or
92	92	(2)] is increased to the next higher category of offense; or
93	93	(2) the minimum term of confinement for an offense
94	94	described for purposes of punishment by Subsection (d)(2) [(d)(3)]
95	95	is increased to 15 years.
96	96	SECTION 5. Sections 43.26(g) and (i), Penal Code, are
97	97	amended to read as follows:
98	98	(g) An offense under Subsection (e) is a felony of the
99	99	second degree, except that the offense is:
100	100	(1) a felony of the first degree if the person promotes
101	101	or possesses with intent to promote visual material that contains
102	102	10 or more visual depictions of a child as described by Subsection
103	103	(a)(1) but fewer than 50 such depictions; or
104	104	(2) a felony of the first degree with a minimum term of
105	105	confinement of 15 years if:
106	106	(A) it is shown on the trial of the offense that
107	107	the person has been previously convicted of an offense under
108	108	Subsection (e); or
109	109	(B) the person promotes or possesses with intent
110	110	to promote visual material that contains:
111	111	(i) 50 or more visual depictions of a child
112	112	as described by Subsection (a)(1); or
113	113	(ii) a videotape or film that visually
114	114	depicts conduct constituting an offense under Section 22.011(a)(2)
115	115	[that subsection].
116	116	(i) For purposes of conduct prohibited under this section,
117	117	visual material to which that conduct applies includes:
118	118	(1) a depiction of a child:
119	119	(A) [(1)] who is recognizable as an actual person
120	120	by the person's face, likeness, or other distinguishing
121	121	characteristic, such as a unique birthmark or other recognizable
122	122	feature; and
123	123	(B) [(2)] whose image as a child younger than 18
124	124	years of age was used in creating, adapting, or modifying the visual
125	125	material, including computer-generated visual material that was
126	126	created, adapted, or modified using an artificial intelligence
127	127	application or other computer software; or
128	128	(2) a depiction of a child, created using an
129	129	artificial intelligence application or other computer software,
130	130	that to a reasonable person is virtually indistinguishable from an
131	131	actual child younger than 18 years of age.
132	132	SECTION 6. Section 43.261(b-1), Penal Code, is amended to
133	133	read as follows:
134	134	(b-1) For purposes of conduct prohibited under Subsection
135	135	(b), visual material to which that conduct applies includes:
136	136	(1) a depiction of a minor:
137	137	(A) [(1)] who is recognizable as an actual person
138	138	by the person's face, likeness, or other distinguishing
139	139	characteristic, such as a unique birthmark or other recognizable
140	140	feature; and
141	141	(B) [(2)] whose image as a minor was used in
142	142	creating, adapting, or modifying the visual material, including
143	143	computer-generated visual material that was created, adapted, or
144	144	modified using an artificial intelligence application or other
145	145	computer software; or
146	146	(2) a depiction of a minor, created using an
147	147	artificial intelligence application or other computer software,
148	148	that to a reasonable person is virtually indistinguishable from an
149	149	actual minor.
150	150	SECTION 7. Section 43.262(b-1), Penal Code, is amended to
151	151	read as follows:
152	152	(b-1) For purposes of conduct prohibited under Subsection
153	153	(b), visual material to which that conduct applies includes:
154	154	(1) a depiction of a child:
155	155	(A) [(1)] who is recognizable as an actual person
156	156	by the person's face, likeness, or other distinguishing
157	157	characteristic, such as a unique birthmark or other recognizable
158	158	feature; and
159	159	(B) [(2)] whose image as a child younger than 18
160	160	years of age was used in creating, adapting, or modifying the visual
161	161	material, including computer-generated visual material that was
162	162	created, adapted, or modified using an artificial intelligence
163	163	application or other computer software; or
164	164	(2) a depiction of a child, created using an
165	165	artificial intelligence application or other computer software,
166	166	that to a reasonable person is virtually indistinguishable from an
167	167	actual child younger than 18 years of age.
168	168	SECTION 8. The following provisions of the Penal Code are
169	169	repealed:
170	170	(1) Section 43.26(d-1), as added by Chapter 93 (S.B.
171	171	1527), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023; and
172	172	(2) Section 43.26(d-2).
173	173	SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
174	174	an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
175	175	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
176	176	by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
177	177	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes
178	178	of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date
179	179	of this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that
180	180	date.
181	181	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.