By Brown                                         S.B. No. 674

      75R6617 GWK-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the prosecution of the offense of possession or

 1-3     promotion of child pornography.

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

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 43.26, Penal Code, is amended by amending

 1-6     Subsections (a), (b), and (f) to read as follows:

 1-7           (a)  A person commits an offense if:

 1-8                 (1)  the person knowingly or intentionally possesses

 1-9     visual material [containing a film image] that visually depicts a

1-10     child younger than 18 years of age at the time the [film] image of

1-11     the child was made who is engaging in sexual conduct; and

1-12                 (2)  the person knows that the material depicts the

1-13     child as described by Subdivision (1).

1-14           (b)  In this section:

1-15                 (1)  ["Film image" includes a photograph, slide,

1-16     negative, film, or videotape, or a reproduction of any of these.]

1-17                 [(2)  "Sexual conduct" has the meaning assigned by

1-18     Section 43.25.]

1-19                 [(3)]  "Promote" has the meaning assigned by Section

1-20     43.25.

1-21                 (2)  "Sexual conduct" has the meaning assigned by

1-22     Section  43.25.

1-23                 (3)  "Visual material" means:

1-24                       (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

2-26     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.