By:  Zaffirini, West                                    S.B. No. 61

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to the penalty for failure to report abuse of persons who

 1-2     are elderly or disabled.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Subsection (a), Section 48.0361, Human Resources

 1-5     Code, is amended to read as follows:

 1-6           (a)  A person commits an offense if the person has cause to

 1-7     believe that an elderly or disabled person has been abused,

 1-8     exploited, or neglected or is in the state of abuse, exploitation,

 1-9     or neglect and knowingly fails to report in accordance with Section

1-10     48.036 or Subchapter E.  An offense under this subsection is a

1-11     Class A [B] misdemeanor.

1-12           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies

1-13     only to the punishment for an offense committed on or after the

1-14     effective date of this Act.  For purposes of this section, an

1-15     offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any

1-16     element of the offense occurs before the effective date.

1-17           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

1-18     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,

1-19     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

1-20           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-21           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-22     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-23     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-1     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

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