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| 2 | + | (In the Senate - Filed December 5, 2024; February 3, 2025, |
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| 3 | + | read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice; |
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| 4 | + | March 19, 2025, reported adversely, with favorable Committee |
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| 5 | + | Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; March 19, 2025, |
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| 6 | + | sent to printer.) |
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| 7 | + | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 8 | + | COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 535 By: Huffman |
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| 4 | 9 | | |
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| 5 | 10 | | |
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| 6 | 11 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 7 | 12 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 13 | | relating to the admissibility of evidence regarding a victim's past |
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| 9 | 14 | | sexual behavior in prosecutions of certain trafficking, sexual, or |
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| 10 | 15 | | assaultive offenses. |
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| 11 | 16 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 17 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 38, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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| 13 | 18 | | amended by adding Article 38.372 to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 19 | | Art. 38.372. EVIDENCE OF VICTIM'S PAST SEXUAL BEHAVIOR. |
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| 15 | 20 | | (a) In this article, "victim" includes the victim of an extraneous |
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| 16 | 21 | | offense or act with respect to which evidence is introduced during |
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| 17 | 22 | | the prosecution of an offense described by Subsection (b). |
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| 18 | 23 | | (b) This article applies to a proceeding in the prosecution |
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| 19 | 24 | | of a defendant for an offense, or for an attempt or conspiracy to |
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| 20 | 25 | | commit an offense, under any of the following provisions of the |
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| 21 | 26 | | Penal Code: |
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| 22 | 27 | | (1) Section 20A.02(a)(3), (4), (7), or (8) |
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| 23 | 28 | | (Trafficking of Persons); |
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| 24 | 29 | | (2) Section 20A.03 (Continuous Trafficking of |
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| 25 | 30 | | Persons), if the offense is based partly or wholly on conduct that |
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| 26 | 31 | | constitutes an offense under Section 20A.02(a)(3), (4), (7), or |
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| 27 | 32 | | (8); |
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| 28 | 33 | | (3) Section 21.02 (Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young |
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| 29 | 34 | | Child or Disabled Individual); |
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| 30 | 35 | | (4) Section 21.11 (Indecency with a Child); |
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| 34 | 38 | | (c) In the prosecution of an offense described by Subsection |
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| 35 | 39 | | (b), reputation or opinion evidence of a victim's past sexual |
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| 36 | 40 | | behavior is not admissible. |
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| 37 | 41 | | (d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), in the prosecution |
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| 38 | 42 | | of an offense described by Subsection (b), evidence of a specific |
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| 39 | 43 | | instance of a victim's past sexual behavior is not admissible. |
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| 40 | 44 | | (e) A defendant may not offer evidence of a specific |
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| 41 | 45 | | instance of a victim's past sexual behavior unless the court: |
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| 42 | 46 | | (1) on a motion by the defendant made outside the |
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| 43 | 47 | | presence of the jury, conducts an in camera examination of the |
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| 44 | 48 | | evidence in the presence of the court reporter; and |
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| 45 | 49 | | (2) determines that the probative value of the |
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| 46 | 50 | | evidence outweighs the danger of unfair prejudice to the victim and |
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| 47 | 51 | | that the evidence: |
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| 48 | 52 | | (A) is necessary to rebut or explain scientific |
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| 49 | 53 | | or medical evidence offered by the attorney representing the state; |
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| 50 | 54 | | (B) concerns past sexual behavior with the |
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| 51 | 55 | | defendant and is offered by the defendant to prove consent, if the |
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| 52 | 56 | | lack of consent is an element of the offense; |
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| 53 | 57 | | (C) relates to the victim's motive or bias; |
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| 54 | 58 | | (D) is admissible under Rule 609, Texas Rules of |
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| 55 | 59 | | Evidence; or |
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| 56 | 60 | | (E) is constitutionally required to be admitted. |
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| 57 | 61 | | (f) The court shall seal the record of the in camera |
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| 58 | 62 | | examination conducted under Subsection (e)(1) and preserve the |
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| 59 | 63 | | examination record as part of the record in the case. |
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| 60 | 64 | | SECTION 2. Under the terms of Section 22.109(b), Government |
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| 61 | 65 | | Code, Rule 412, Texas Rules of Evidence, is disapproved. |
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| 62 | 66 | | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies to the |
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| 63 | 67 | | admissibility of evidence in a criminal proceeding that commences |
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| 64 | 68 | | on or after the effective date of this Act. The admissibility of |
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| 65 | 69 | | evidence in a criminal proceeding that commences before the |
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| 66 | 70 | | effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the |
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| 67 | 71 | | date the proceeding commenced, and the former law is continued in |
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| 68 | 72 | | effect for that purpose. |
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| 69 | 73 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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