By Smith                                        H.B. No. 2040

      75R7305 GWK-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the punishment for certain assaults committed against

 1-3     employees of primary or secondary schools.

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

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 22.01, Penal Code, is amended to read as

 1-6     follows:

 1-7           Sec. 22.01.  Assault.  (a)  A person commits an offense if

 1-8     the person:

 1-9                 (1)  intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes

1-10     bodily injury to another, including the person's spouse;

1-11                 (2)  intentionally or knowingly threatens another with

1-12     imminent bodily injury, including the person's spouse; or

1-13                 (3)  intentionally or knowingly causes physical contact

1-14     with another when the person knows or should reasonably believe

1-15     that the other will regard the contact as offensive or provocative.

1-16           (b)  An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is a Class A

1-17     misdemeanor, except that the offense is:

1-18                 (1)  a felony of the third degree if the offense is

1-19     committed against:

1-20                       (A)  a person the actor knows is a public servant

1-21     while the public servant is lawfully discharging an official duty,

1-22     or in retaliation for or on account of an exercise of official

1-23     power or performance of an official duty as a public servant; or

1-24                       (B)  an employee of a school district or a

 2-1     primary or secondary school accredited by the Texas Education

 2-2     Agency, including a classroom teacher, principal, or bus driver,

 2-3     while the employee is engaged in performing duties within the scope

 2-4     of employment or in retaliation for or on account of the employee's

 2-5     performance of a duty within the scope of employment; or

 2-6                 (2) [.]

 2-7           [(b)  An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is] a state jail

 2-8     felony if [Class A misdemeanor unless] it is shown on the trial of

 2-9     the offense that the offense was committed against a family member

2-10     and that the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense

2-11     against a family member under this section two or more times[, in

2-12     which event the offense is a state jail felony].

2-13           (c)  An offense under Subsection (a)(2) or (3) is a Class C

2-14     misdemeanor, except that:

2-15                 (1)  an offense under Subsection (a)(2) or (3) is a

2-16     Class A misdemeanor if the offense is committed against an employee

2-17     of a school district or a primary or secondary school accredited by

2-18     the Texas Education Agency, including a classroom teacher,

2-19     principal, or bus driver, while the employee is engaged in

2-20     performing duties within the scope of employment or in retaliation

2-21     for or on account of the employee's performance of a duty within

2-22     the scope of employment; and

2-23                 (2)  an offense under Subsection (a)(3) is a Class A

2-24     misdemeanor if the offense was committed against an elderly

2-25     individual or disabled individual, as those terms are defined by

2-26     Section 22.04.

2-27           (d)  For purposes of Subsection (b)(1)(A), the actor is

 3-1     presumed to have known the person assaulted was a public servant if

 3-2     the person was wearing a distinctive uniform or badge indicating

 3-3     the person's employment as a public servant.

 3-4           (e) [(d)]  In this section, "family" has the meaning assigned

 3-5     by Section 71.01, Family Code.

 3-6           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies

 3-7     only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this

 3-8     Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before

 3-9     the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs

3-10     before the effective date.

3-11           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

3-12     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,

3-13     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

3-14           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

3-15           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-16     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-17     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-18     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-19     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.