1-1     By:  Hightower (Senate Sponsor - Whitmire)             H.B. No. 975

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 10, 1997;

 1-3     April 11, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on

 1-4     Criminal Justice; May 2, 1997, reported favorably by the following

 1-5     vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 2, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to preventing and prosecuting the criminal offense of

 1-9     escape.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Sections 9.01(1) and (2), Penal Code, are amended

1-12     to read as follows:

1-13                 (1)  "Custody" has the meaning assigned by Section

1-14     38.01 [means:]

1-15                       [(A)  under arrest by a peace officer; or]

1-16                       [(B)  under restraint by a public servant

1-17     pursuant to an order of a court].

1-18                 (2)  "Escape" has the meaning assigned by Section 38.01

1-19     [means unauthorized departure from custody or failure to return to

1-20     custody following temporary leave for a specific purpose or limited

1-21     period, but does not include a violation of conditions of community

1-22     supervision or parole, or following leave that is part of an

1-23     intermittent sentence].

1-24           SECTION 2.  Section 38.01(1), Penal Code, is amended to read

1-25     as follows:

1-26                 (1)  "Custody" means:

1-27                       (A)  under arrest by a peace officer or under

1-28     restraint by a public servant pursuant to an order of a court of

1-29     this state or another state of the United States; or

1-30                       (B)  under restraint by an agent or employee of a

1-31     facility that is operated by or under contract with the United

1-32     States and that confines persons arrested for, charged with, or

1-33     convicted of criminal offenses.

1-34           SECTION 3.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies

1-35     only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this

1-36     Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before

1-37     the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs

1-38     before the effective date.

1-39           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

1-40     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,

1-41     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

1-42           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-43           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-44     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-45     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-46     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-47     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

1-48                                  * * * * *