By Brown S.B. No. 137
74R1470 GWK-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the punishment for repeat and habitual state jail
1-3 felony offenders.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Sections 12.42(a) and (e), Penal Code, are
1-6 amended to read as follows:
1-7 (a)(1) If it is shown on the trial of a state jail felony
1-8 punishable under Section 12.35(a) that the defendant has been once
1-9 before convicted of any felony, on conviction he shall be punished
1-10 for a third-degree felony. If it is shown on the trial of a state
1-11 jail felony punishable under Section 12.35(a) that the defendant
1-12 has previously been convicted of two felonies at least one of which
1-13 is punishable under Section 12.35(a), and the second previous
1-14 conviction is for an offense that occurred subsequent to the
1-15 judgment for the first previous conviction having been entered, on
1-16 conviction he shall be punished for a second-degree felony.
1-17 (2) If it is shown on the trial of a state jail felony
1-18 punishable under Section 12.35(c) or on the trial of a third-degree
1-19 felony that the defendant has been once before convicted of a
1-20 felony, on conviction he shall be punished for a second-degree
1-21 felony.
1-22 (e) A previous conviction for a state jail felony punishable
1-23 under Section 12.35(a) may be used for enhancement purposes only
1-24 under Subsection (a)(1). A previous conviction for a state jail
2-1 felony punishable under Section 12.35(c) may be used for
2-2 enhancement purposes under Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) <this
2-3 section only if the defendant was punished for the offense under
2-4 Section 12.35(c)>.
2-5 SECTION 2. Section 15(d), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal
2-6 Procedure, as amended by Chapter 900, Acts of the 73rd Legislature,
2-7 Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
2-8 (d) A judge may impose as a condition of community
2-9 supervision that a defendant submit at the beginning of the period
2-10 of community supervision to a term of confinement in a state jail
2-11 felony facility for a term not to exceed 60 days, <or 180 days if
2-12 the defendant previously has been convicted of a felony,> or one
2-13 year if the defendant is convicted of an offense punishable as a
2-14 state jail felony under Section 481.112, Health and Safety Code<,
2-15 or the defendant previously has been convicted of two or more
2-16 felonies>. A judge may not require a defendant to submit to both
2-17 the term of confinement authorized by this subsection and a term of
2-18 confinement under Section 12 of this article. <For the purposes of
2-19 this subsection, a defendant previously has been convicted of a
2-20 felony regardless of whether the sentence for the previous
2-21 conviction was actually imposed or was probated and suspended>.
2-22 SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
2-23 only to the punishment for an offense committed on or after the
2-24 effective date of this Act. For purposes of this section, an
2-25 offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any
2-26 element of the offense occurs before the effective date.
2-27 (b) The punishment for an offense committed before the
3-1 effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the
3-2 offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect
3-3 for that purpose.
3-4 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
3-5 SECTION 5. 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.