By:  De La Garza                                        H.B. No. 15
       73R1108 GWK-F
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to the prosecution of the offense of engaging in organized
    1-3  criminal activity.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Section 71.03, Penal Code, is amended to read as
    1-6  follows:
    1-7        Sec. 71.03.  Defenses Excluded.  It is no defense to
    1-8  prosecution under Section 71.02 of this code that:
    1-9              (1)  one or more members of the combination are not
   1-10  criminally responsible for the object offense;
   1-11              (2)  one or more members of the combination have been
   1-12  acquitted, have not been prosecuted or convicted, have been
   1-13  convicted of a different offense, or are immune from prosecution;
   1-14              (3)  a person has been charged with, acquitted, or
   1-15  convicted of any offense listed in Subsection (a) of Section 71.02
   1-16  of this code; or
   1-17              (4)  once the initial combination of three <five> or
   1-18  more persons is formed there is a change in the number or identity
   1-19  of persons in the combination as long as two or more persons remain
   1-20  in the combination and are involved in a continuing course of
   1-21  conduct constituting an offense under this chapter.
   1-22        SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
   1-23  only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
   1-24  Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
    2-1  the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
    2-2  before the effective date.
    2-3        (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this
    2-4  Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
    2-5  and the former law is continued in effect for this purpose.
    2-6        SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
    2-7        SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
    2-8  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
    2-9  emergency   and   an   imperative   public   necessity   that   the
   2-10  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-11  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.