1-1  By:  West et al. (Senate Sponsor - Brown)             H.B. No. 1079
    1-2        (In the Senate - Received from the House May 15, 1995;
    1-3  May 16, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
    1-4  Justice; May 22, 1995, reported favorably by the following vote:
    1-5  Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 22, 1995, sent to printer.)
    1-6                         A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-7                                AN ACT
    1-8  relating to prosecution of the offense of tampering with or
    1-9  fabricating physical evidence.
   1-10        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
   1-11        SECTION 1.  Section 37.09, Penal Code, is amended by adding
   1-12  Subsection (d) to read as follows:
   1-13        (d)  A person commits an offense if, knowing that an offense
   1-14  has been committed, he alters, destroys, or conceals any record,
   1-15  document, or thing with intent to impair its verity, legibility, or
   1-16  availability as evidence in any subsequent investigation of or
   1-17  official proceeding related to the offense.
   1-18        SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
   1-19  only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
   1-20  Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
   1-21  the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
   1-22  before the effective date.
   1-23        (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this
   1-24  Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
   1-25  and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
   1-26        SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
   1-27        SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
   1-28  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   1-29  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   1-30  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   1-31  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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