S.B. No. 818 AN ACT 1-1 relating to the punishment as a capital offense of certain murders 1-2 committed by individuals incarcerated in penal institutions. 1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-4 SECTION 1. Section 19.03, Penal Code, is amended by amending 1-5 Subsection (a) and by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: 1-6 (a) A person commits an offense if he commits murder as 1-7 defined under Section 19.02(a)(1) of this code and: 1-8 (1) the person murders a peace officer or fireman who 1-9 is acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty and who the 1-10 person knows is a peace officer or fireman; 1-11 (2) the person intentionally commits the murder in the 1-12 course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary, 1-13 robbery, aggravated sexual assault, or arson; 1-14 (3) the person commits the murder for remuneration or 1-15 the promise of remuneration or employs another to commit the murder 1-16 for remuneration or the promise of remuneration; 1-17 (4) the person commits the murder while escaping or 1-18 attempting to escape from a penal institution; 1-19 (5) the person, while incarcerated in a penal 1-20 institution, murders another: 1-21 (A) who is employed in the operation of the 1-22 penal institution; or 1-23 (B) with the intent to establish, maintain, or 1-24 participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination; 2-1 (6) the person, while serving a sentence of life 2-2 imprisonment or a term of 99 years for the commission of any 2-3 offense listed in Section 3g(a)(1), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal 2-4 Procedure, murders another; or 2-5 (7) the person murders more than one person: 2-6 (A) during the same criminal transaction; or 2-7 (B) during different criminal transactions but 2-8 the murders are committed pursuant to the same scheme or course of 2-9 conduct. 2-10 (d) In this section, "combination" and "profits" have the 2-11 meanings assigned by Section 71.01 of this code. 2-12 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies 2-13 only to a defendant convicted of an offense committed on or after 2-14 the effective date of this Act. For purposes of this section, an 2-15 offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any 2-16 element of the offense occurs before the effective date. 2-17 (b) A defendant convicted of an offense committed before the 2-18 effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the 2-19 offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect 2-20 for that purpose. 2-21 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993. 2-22 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the 2-23 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-24 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-25 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-26 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.