By Turner of Coleman H.B. No. 182
74R332 GWK-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the murder of an individual providing certain medical
1-3 emergency care or an individual serving as a fire department or law
1-4 enforcement chaplain as a capital offense.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Section 19.03(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
1-7 as follows:
1-8 (a) A person commits an offense if he commits murder as
1-9 defined under Section 19.02(b)(1) and:
1-10 (1) the person murders a peace officer, a <or>
1-11 fireman, or an individual qualified as an emergency care attendant
1-12 or emergency medical technician under Chapter 773, Health and
1-13 Safety Code, who is acting in the lawful discharge of an official
1-14 duty and who the person knows is a peace officer, <or> fireman, or
1-15 emergency care attendant or emergency medical technician;
1-16 (2) the person intentionally commits the murder in the
1-17 course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary,
1-18 robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, or obstruction or
1-19 retaliation;
1-20 (3) the person commits the murder for remuneration or
1-21 the promise of remuneration or employs another to commit the murder
1-22 for remuneration or the promise of remuneration;
1-23 (4) the person commits the murder while escaping or
1-24 attempting to escape from a penal institution;
2-1 (5) the person, while incarcerated in a penal
2-2 institution, murders another:
2-3 (A) who is employed in the operation of the
2-4 penal institution; or
2-5 (B) with the intent to establish, maintain, or
2-6 participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination;
2-7 (6) the person:
2-8 (A) while incarcerated for an offense under this
2-9 section or Section 19.02, murders another; or
2-10 (B) while serving a sentence of life
2-11 imprisonment or a term of 99 years for an offense under Section
2-12 20.04, 22.021, or 29.03, murders another;
2-13 (7) the person murders more than one person:
2-14 (A) during the same criminal transaction; or
2-15 (B) during different criminal transactions but
2-16 the murders are committed pursuant to the same scheme or course of
2-17 conduct; <or>
2-18 (8) the person murders an individual under six years
2-19 of age; or
2-20 (9) the person murders an individual who is acting in
2-21 the discharge of a duty as a fire department or law enforcement
2-22 chaplain and who the person knows is a chaplain.
2-23 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
2-24 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
2-25 Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
2-26 the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
2-27 before the effective date.
3-1 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
3-2 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
3-3 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
3-4 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
3-5 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-6 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-7 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-8 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-9 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.