By Moffat H.B. No. 2329
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the offense of criminal solicitation, providing that it
1-3 is an offense to solicit a child to commit any felony and that the
1-4 punishment for the offense is the same degree as the most serious
1-5 felony solicited.
1-6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-7 SECTION 1. Section 15.03, Penal Code, is amended to read as
1-8 follows:
1-9 Sec. 15.03. Criminal Solicitation. (a) A person commits an
1-10 offense if <,>:
1-11 (1) with intent that a capital or felony of the first
1-12 degree be committed, he requests, commands, or attempts to induce
1-13 another to engage in specific conduct that, under the circumstances
1-14 surrounding his conduct as the actor believes them to be, would
1-15 constitute the felony or make the other a party to its commission
1-16 <.>, or
1-17 (2) with intent that a felony be committed, he
1-18 requests, commands or attempts to induce a child to engage in
1-19 specific conduct that, under the circumstances surrounding the
1-20 conduct of the child as the actor believes them to be, would
1-21 constitute the felony or make the child a party to its commission.
1-22 (b) A person may not be convicted under this section <on the
1-23 uncorroborated testimony of the person allegedly solicited and>
2-1 unless the solicitation is made under circumstances strongly
2-2 corroborative of both the solicitation itself and the actor's
2-3 intent that the other person act on the solicitation.
2-4 (c) It is no defense to prosecution under this section that:
2-5 (1) the person solicited is not criminally responsible
2-6 for the felony solicited;
2-7 (2) the person solicited has been acquitted, has not
2-8 been prosecuted or convicted, has been convicted of a different
2-9 offense or of a different type or class of offense, or is immune
2-10 from prosecution;
2-11 (3) the actor belongs to a class of persons that by
2-12 definition of the felony solicited is legally incapable of
2-13 committing the offense in an individual capacity; or
2-14 (4) the felony solicited was actually committed.
2-15 (d) An offense under this section is:
2-16 (1) a felony of the first degree if the offense
2-17 solicited is a capital offense; or
2-18 (2) a felony of the second degree if the offense
2-19 solicited is a felony of the first degree <.> committed under
2-20 subsection (a)(1) of this section; or
2-21 (3) a felony of the same degree as the most serious
2-22 felony solicited if the offense was committed under subsection
2-23 (a)(2) of this section, except that if the felony solicited was a
2-24 capital felony the offense is a felony of the first degree.
2-25 (e) For purposes of this section "child" has the same
3-1 meaning given this term in Family Code Section 51.02 subsection
3-2 (1)(A).
3-3 SECTION 2. (a) The change in the law made by this Act
3-4 applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective date
3-5 of this Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed
3-6 before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
3-7 occurs before the effective date.
3-8 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
3-9 Act is covered by the law in
3-10 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
3-11 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
3-12 and the former law is continued in effect for this purpose.
3-13 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect ______________, 19__.
3-14 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-15 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-16 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-17 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-18 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.