By:  Brown, Nelson                            S.B. No. 674

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to the prosecution of the offense of possession or

 1-2     promotion of child pornography.

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

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Subsections (a), (b), and (f), Section 43.26,

 1-5     Penal Code, are amended to read as follows:

 1-6           (a)  A person commits an offense if:

 1-7                 (1)  the person knowingly or intentionally possesses

 1-8     visual material [containing a film image] that visually depicts a

 1-9     child younger than 18 years of age at the time the [film] image of

1-10     the child was made who is engaging in sexual conduct; and

1-11                 (2)  the person knows that the material depicts the

1-12     child as described by Subdivision (1).

1-13           (b)  In this section:

1-14                 (1)  ["Film image" includes a photograph, slide,

1-15     negative, film, or videotape, or a reproduction of any of these.]

1-16                 [(2)  "Sexual conduct" has the meaning assigned by

1-17     Section 43.25.]

1-18                 [(3)]  "Promote" has the meaning assigned by Section

1-19     43.25.

1-20                 (2)  "Sexual conduct" has the meaning assigned by

1-21     Section  43.25.

1-22                 (3)  "Visual material" means:

1-23                       (A)  any film, photograph, videotape, negative,

 2-1     or slide or any photographic reproduction that contains or

 2-2     incorporates in any manner any film, photograph, videotape,

 2-3     negative, or slide; or

 2-4                       (B)  any disk, diskette, or other physical medium

 2-5     that allows an image to be displayed on a computer or other video

 2-6     screen and any image transmitted to a computer or other video

 2-7     screen by telephone line, cable, satellite transmission, or other

 2-8     method.

 2-9           (f)  A person who possesses visual material that contains six

2-10     or more identical visual depictions of [film images depicting] a

2-11     child as described by Subsection (a)(1) is presumed to possess the

2-12     material [film images] with the intent to promote the material.

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

2-14     only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this

2-15     Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before

2-16     the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs

2-17     before the effective date.

2-18           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

2-19     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,

2-20     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

2-21           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-22           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-23     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-24     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-25     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 3-1     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.