1-1           By:  Zaffirini                                    S.B. No. 61

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed November 12, 1996; January 14, 1997,

 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human

 1-4     Services; March 5, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:

 1-5     Yeas 11, Nays 0; March 5, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to the penalty for failure to report abuse of persons who

 1-9     are elderly or disabled.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Subsection (a), Section 48.0361, Human Resources

1-12     Code, is amended to read as follows:

1-13           (a)  A person commits an offense if the person has cause to

1-14     believe that an elderly or disabled person has been abused,

1-15     exploited, or neglected or is in the state of abuse, exploitation,

1-16     or neglect and knowingly fails to report in accordance with Section

1-17     48.036 or Subchapter E.  An offense under this subsection is a

1-18     Class A [B] misdemeanor.

1-19           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies

1-20     only to the punishment for an offense committed on or after the

1-21     effective date of this Act.  For purposes of this section, an

1-22     offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any

1-23     element of the offense occurs before the effective date.

1-24           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

1-25     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,

1-26     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

1-27           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-28           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-29     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-30     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-31     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-32     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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