By Nixon H.B. No. 1667 74R6777 GWK-F A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to capital punishment for murders committed during the 1-3 commission of certain offenses under the Texas Controlled 1-4 Substances Act. 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 or fireman who 1-11 is acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty and who the 1-12 person knows is a peace officer or fireman; 1-13 (2) the person intentionally commits the murder in the 1-14 course of committing or attempting to commit: 1-15 (A) kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated 1-16 sexual assault, arson, or obstruction or retaliation; or 1-17 (B) an offense under Section 481.112, 481.113, 1-18 481.114, 481.120, or 481.122, Health and Safety Code; 1-19 (3) the person commits the murder for remuneration or 1-20 the promise of remuneration or employs another to commit the murder 1-21 for remuneration or the promise of remuneration; 1-22 (4) the person commits the murder while escaping or 1-23 attempting to escape from a penal institution; 1-24 (5) the person, while incarcerated in a penal 2-1 institution, murders another: 2-2 (A) who is employed in the operation of the 2-3 penal institution; or 2-4 (B) with the intent to establish, maintain, or 2-5 participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination; 2-6 (6) the person: 2-7 (A) while incarcerated for an offense under this 2-8 section or Section 19.02, murders another; or 2-9 (B) while serving a sentence of life 2-10 imprisonment or a term of 99 years for an offense under Section 2-11 20.04, 22.021, or 29.03, murders another; 2-12 (7) the person murders more than one person: 2-13 (A) during the same criminal transaction; or 2-14 (B) during different criminal transactions but 2-15 the murders are committed pursuant to the same scheme or course of 2-16 conduct; or 2-17 (8) the person murders an individual under six years 2-18 of age. 2-19 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies 2-20 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of 2-21 this Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed 2-22 before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense 2-23 occurs before the effective date. 2-24 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this 2-25 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, 2-26 and the former law is continued in effect for this purpose. 2-27 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995. 3-1 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the 3-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.