By Kamel, Turner of Coleman                             H.B. No. 61

         75R768 GWK-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the murder of an individual who provides certain

 1-3     medical emergency care.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 19.03(a), Penal Code, is amended to read

 1-6     as follows:

 1-7           (a)  A person commits an offense if he commits murder as

 1-8     defined under Section 19.02(b)(1) and:

 1-9                 (1)  the person murders a peace officer, a [or]

1-10     fireman, or an individual qualified as an emergency care attendant

1-11     or emergency medical technician under Chapter 773, Health and

1-12     Safety Code, who is acting in the lawful discharge of an official

1-13     duty and who the person knows is a peace officer, [or] fireman, or

1-14     emergency care attendant or emergency medical technician;

1-15                 (2)  the person intentionally commits the murder in the

1-16     course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary,

1-17     robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, or obstruction or

1-18     retaliation;

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 this

2-21     Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before

2-22     the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs

2-23     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 that purpose.

2-27           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 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.