Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.

      Line and page numbers may not match official copy.

      By Williams                                     H.B. No. 2233

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the time limits in which a felony indictment may be

 1-3     presented for certain felonies.

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

 1-5           Article 12.01(4), Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to

 1-6     read as follows:

 1-7                 (4)  five years from the date of the commission of the

 1-8     offense:

 1-9                       (A)  theft, burglary, robbery;

1-10                       (B)  arson;

1-11                       (C)  sexual assault, except as provided in

1-12     Subsection (2)(D) of this article;

1-13                       (D)  aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping;

1-14                       (E)  aggravated assault;

1-15                       (F)  Injury to a child;

1-16                       (G)  Injury to an elderly person;

1-17                       (H)  Injury to a disabled person;

1-18                       (I)  Abandoning/endangering a child.

1-19           The change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense

1-20     committed on or after the effective date of this Act.  For purposes

1-21     of this section, an offense is committed before the effective date

1-22     of this Act if any element of the offense occurs before the

1-23     effective date.

1-24           An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is

 2-1     covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and

 2-2     the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

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

 2-4           The importance of this legislation and the crowded condition

 2-5     of the calendars in both houses create an emergency and an

 2-6     imperative public necessity that the constitutional rule requiring

 2-7     bills to be read on three several days in each house be suspended,

 2-8     and this rule is hereby suspended, and that this Act take effect

 2-9     and be in force from and after its passage, and it is so enacted.