By Williams, McClendon, Wise, Keffer                  H.B. No. 2233

         75R10985 KEL-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the statute of limitations for the presentation of

 1-3     certain felony indictments.

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

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Article 12.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

 1-6     amended to read as follows:

 1-7           Art.  12.01.  FELONIES.  Except as provided in Article 12.03,

 1-8     felony indictments may be presented within these limits, and not

 1-9     afterward:

1-10                 (1)  no limitation:  murder and manslaughter;

1-11                 (2)  ten years from the date of the commission of the

1-12     offense:

1-13                       (A)  theft of any estate, real, personal or

1-14     mixed, by an executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, with

1-15     intent to defraud any creditor, heir, legatee, ward, distributee,

1-16     beneficiary or settlor of a trust interested in such estate;

1-17                       (B)  theft by a public servant of government

1-18     property over which he exercises control in his official capacity;

1-19                       (C)  forgery or the uttering, using or passing of

1-20     forged instruments;

1-21                       (D)  sexual assault under Section 22.011(a)(2) of

1-22     the Penal Code; indecency with a child;

1-23                 (3)  seven years from the date of the commission of the

1-24     offense:

 2-1                       (A)  misapplication of fiduciary property or

 2-2     property of a financial institution;

 2-3                       (B)  securing execution of document by deception;

 2-4                 (4)  five years from the date of the commission of the

 2-5     offense:

 2-6                       (A)  theft, burglary, robbery;

 2-7                       (B)  arson;

 2-8                       (C)  sexual assault, except as provided in

 2-9     Subsection (2)(D) of this article;

2-10                       (D)  kidnapping;

2-11                       (E)  injury to a child, elderly individual, or

2-12     disabled individual;

2-13                       (F)  abandoning or endangering a child;

2-14                 (5)  three years from the date of the commission of the

2-15     offense: all other felonies.

2-16           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.  The

2-17     change in law made by this Act does not apply to an offense if the

2-18     prosecution of that offense became barred by limitation before the

2-19     effective date of this Act.  The prosecution of that offense

2-20     remains barred as if this Act had not taken effect.

2-21           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-22     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-23     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-24     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-25     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.