By Sibley                                              S.B. No. 990
       74R6460 GWK-D
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to the hearsay statement of a child abuse victim.
    1-3        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-4        SECTION 1.  Article 38.072, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
    1-5  amended to read as follows:
    1-6        Art. 38.072.  Hearsay Statement of Child Abuse Victim
    1-7        Sec. 1.  This article applies to a proceeding in the
    1-8  prosecution of an offense under any of the following provisions of
    1-9  the Penal Code, if committed against a child 12 years of age or
   1-10  younger:
   1-11              (1)  Chapter 21 (Sexual Offenses) or 22 (Assaultive
   1-12  Offenses);
   1-13              (2)  Section 25.02 (Prohibited Sexual Conduct)
   1-14  <(Incest)>; or
   1-15              (3)  <Section 25.06 (Solicitation of a Child, added by
   1-16  Chapter 413, Acts of the 65th Legislature, Regular Session, 1977);
   1-17  or>
   1-18              <(4)>  Section 43.25 (Sexual Performance by a Child).
   1-19        Sec. 2.  (a)  This article applies only to statements that
   1-20  describe the alleged offense that:
   1-21              (1)  were made by the child against whom the offense
   1-22  was allegedly committed; and
   1-23              (2)  were made to any <the first> person<, 18 years of
   1-24  age or older>, other than the defendant, to whom the child made a
    2-1  statement about the offense.
    2-2        (b)  A statement that meets the requirements of Subsection
    2-3  (a) of this article is not inadmissible because of the hearsay rule
    2-4  if<:>
    2-5              <(1)  on or before the 14th day before the date the
    2-6  proceeding begins, the party intending to offer the statement:>
    2-7                    <(A)  notifies the adverse party of its intention
    2-8  to do so;>
    2-9                    <(B)  provides the adverse party with the name of
   2-10  the witness through whom it intends to offer the statement; and>
   2-11                    <(C)  provides the adverse party with a written
   2-12  summary of the statement;>
   2-13              <(2)>  the trial court finds, in a hearing conducted
   2-14  outside the presence of the jury, that the statement is reliable
   2-15  based on the time, content, and circumstances of the statement<;>
   2-16  and:
   2-17              (1) <(3)>  the child testifies <or is available to
   2-18  testify> at the proceeding in court or in any other manner provided
   2-19  by law; or
   2-20              (2)  the party intending to offer the statement shows
   2-21  at the hearing that admitting the statement into evidence without
   2-22  requiring the child to testify is necessary to protect the welfare
   2-23  of the child.
   2-24        (c)  On the timely request of a defendant, the party
   2-25  intending to offer the statement shall give reasonable notice of an
   2-26  intent to introduce a statement under this article.
   2-27        SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
    3-1        SECTION 3.  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.