By Talton, Nixon                                        H.B. No. 89

         75R1424 GWK-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the applicability of habitual offender punishment

 1-3     provisions to certain defendants convicted of state jail felonies.

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

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 12.42(d)(1), Penal Code, is amended to

 1-6     read as follows:

 1-7           (d)(1)  If it is shown on the trial of a felony offense

 1-8     [other than a state jail felony punishable under Section 12.35(a)]

 1-9     that the  defendant has previously been finally convicted of two

1-10     felony offenses, and the second previous felony conviction is for

1-11     an offense that occurred subsequent to the first previous

1-12     conviction having become final, on conviction he shall be punished

1-13     by imprisonment in the institutional division of the Texas

1-14     Department of Criminal Justice for life, or for any term of not

1-15     more than 99 years or less than 25 years.

1-16           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies

1-17     only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this

1-18     Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before

1-19     the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs

1-20     before the effective date.

1-21           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

1-22     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,

1-23     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

1-24           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 2-1           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

 2-2     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-3     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-4     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-5     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.