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.