By: Flores, et al. S.B. No. 20
(In the Senate - Filed February 24, 2025; February 26, 2025,
read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
March 6, 2025, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 7,
Nays 0; March 6, 2025, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of the criminal offense of possession or
promotion of obscene visual material appearing to depict a child.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 43, Penal Code, is amended
by adding Section 43.235 to read as follows:
Sec. 43.235. POSSESSION OR PROMOTION OF OBSCENE VISUAL
MATERIAL APPEARING TO DEPICT CHILD. (a) In this section:
(1) "Promote" has the meaning assigned by Section
43.25.
(2) "Visual material" has the meaning assigned by
Section 43.26.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly
possesses, accesses with intent to view, or promotes obscene visual
material containing a depiction that appears to be of a child
younger than 18 years of age engaging in activities described by
Section 43.21(a)(1)(B), regardless of whether the depiction is an
image of an actual child, a cartoon or animation, or an image
created using an artificial intelligence application or other
computer software.
(c) An offense under this section is a state jail felony,
except that the offense is:
(1) a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the
trial of the offense that the person has been previously convicted
one time of an offense under this section or Section 43.23, 43.26,
43.261, or 43.262; or
(2) a felony of the second degree if it is shown on the
trial of the offense that the person has been previously convicted
two or more times of an offense under this section, Section 43.23,
43.26, 43.261, or 43.262, or any combination of those offenses.
(d) If conduct constituting an offense under this section
also constitutes an offense under another law, the actor may be
prosecuted under this section or the other law, but not both.
SECTION 2. Section 71.02(a), Penal Code, as amended by
Chapters 269 (S.B. 224), 369 (H.B. 1442), 462 (S.B. 1900), 885 (H.B.
4635), and 910 (H.B. 6), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2023, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to
establish, maintain, or participate in a combination or in the
profits of a combination or as a member of a criminal street gang or
foreign terrorist organization, the person commits or conspires to
commit one or more of the following:
(1) murder, capital murder, arson, aggravated
robbery, robbery, burglary, theft, aggravated kidnapping,
kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, sexual
assault, continuous sexual abuse of young child or disabled
individual, solicitation of a minor, forgery, deadly conduct,
assault punishable as a Class A misdemeanor, burglary of a motor
vehicle, or unauthorized use of a motor vehicle;
(2) any gambling offense punishable as a Class A
misdemeanor;
(3) promotion of prostitution, aggravated promotion
of prostitution, or compelling prostitution;
(4) unlawful manufacture, transportation, repair, or
sale of firearms or prohibited weapons;
(5) unlawful manufacture, delivery, dispensation, or
distribution of a controlled substance or dangerous drug, or
unlawful possession of a controlled substance or dangerous drug:
(A) through forgery, fraud, misrepresentation,
or deception; or
(B) with the intent to deliver the controlled
substance or dangerous drug;
(5-a) causing the unlawful delivery, dispensation, or
distribution of a controlled substance or dangerous drug in
violation of Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations Code;
[(5-b) any unlawful possession with intent to deliver
a controlled substance or dangerous drug;
[(5-b) unlawful possession with intent to deliver a
controlled substance listed in Penalty Group 1-B under Section
481.1022, Health and Safety Code;]
(6) any unlawful wholesale promotion or possession of
any obscene material or obscene device with the intent to wholesale
promote the same;
(7) any offense under Subchapter B, Chapter 43,
depicting or involving conduct by or directed toward a child
younger than 18 years of age;
(8) any felony offense under Chapter 32;
(9) any offense under Chapter 36;
(10) any offense under Chapter 34, 35, or 35A;
(11) any offense under Section 37.11(a);
(12) any offense under Chapter 20A;
(13) any offense under Section 37.10;
(14) any offense under Section 38.06, 38.07, 38.09, or
38.11;
(15) any offense under Section 42.10;
(16) any offense under Section 43.235;
(17) any offense under Section 46.06(a)(1) or 46.14;
(18) [(17)] any offense under Section 20.05, 20.06, or
20.07;
(19) [(18)] any offense under Section 16.02;
(20) [(19)] any offense punishable under Section
42.03(d) or (e);
(21) [(19)] an offense under Section 28.03 that is
punishable under Subsection (b)(4)(E) of that section;
(22) [(20)] an offense under Section 31.21 that is
punishable under Subsection (d) of that section; [or]
(23) [(20)] any offense classified as a felony under
the Tax Code; or
(24) [(21)] any offense under Section 545.420,
Transportation Code.
SECTION 3. 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
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