By Zaffirini                                            S.B. No. 61

      75R675 KKA-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the penalty for failure to report abuse of persons who

 1-3     are elderly or disabled.

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

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 48.0361(a), Human Resources Code, is

 1-6     amended to read as follows:

 1-7           (a)  A person commits an offense if the person has cause to

 1-8     believe that an elderly or disabled person has been abused,

 1-9     exploited, or neglected or is in the state of abuse, exploitation,

1-10     or neglect and knowingly fails to report in accordance with Section

1-11     48.036 or Subchapter E.  An offense under this subsection is a

1-12     Class A [B] misdemeanor.

1-13           SECTION 2.  (a) The change in law made by this Act applies

1-14     only to the punishment for an offense committed on or after the

1-15     effective date of this Act.  For purposes of this section, an

1-16     offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any

1-17     element of the offense occurs before the effective date.

1-18           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

1-19     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,

1-20     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

1-21           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-22           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-23     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-24     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.