By:  Brown                                    S.B. No. 160

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to prosecution of the offense of tampering with or

 1-2     fabricating physical evidence; creating an offense.

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

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 37.09, Penal Code, is amended by adding

 1-5     Subsection (d) to read as follows:

 1-6           (d)  A person commits an offense if, knowing that an offense

 1-7     has been committed, he alters, destroys, or conceals any record,

 1-8     document, or thing with intent to impair its verity, legibility, or

 1-9     availability as evidence in any subsequent investigation of or

1-10     official proceeding related to the offense.

1-11           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies

1-12     only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this

1-13     Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before

1-14     the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs

1-15     before the effective date.

1-16           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

1-17     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,

1-18     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

1-19           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-20           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-21     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-22     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-23     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-1     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.