By Reyna of Bexar H.B. No. 92
76R221 DB-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the punishment for certain assaults committed against
1-3 employees of primary or secondary schools.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 22.01, Penal Code, is amended to read as
1-6 follows:
1-7 Sec. 22.01. Assault. (a) A person commits an offense if
1-8 the person:
1-9 (1) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes
1-10 bodily injury to another, including the person's spouse;
1-11 (2) intentionally or knowingly threatens another with
1-12 imminent bodily injury, including the person's spouse; or
1-13 (3) intentionally or knowingly causes physical contact
1-14 with another when the person knows or should reasonably believe
1-15 that the other will regard the contact as offensive or provocative.
1-16 (b) An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is a Class A
1-17 misdemeanor, except that the offense is:
1-18 (1) a felony of the third degree if the offense is
1-19 committed against:
1-20 (A) a person the actor knows is a public servant
1-21 while the public servant is lawfully discharging an official duty,
1-22 or in retaliation for or on account of an exercise of official
1-23 power or performance of an official duty as a public servant; or
1-24 (B) an employee of a public or private primary
2-1 or secondary school while the employee is engaged in performing
2-2 duties within the scope of employment or in retaliation for or on
2-3 account of the employee's performance of a duty within the scope of
2-4 employment; or
2-5 (2) a state jail felony if it is shown on the trial of
2-6 the offense that the offense was committed against a family member
2-7 and that the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense
2-8 against a family member under this section two or more times.
2-9 (c) An offense under Subsection (a)(2) or (3) is a Class C
2-10 misdemeanor, except that:
2-11 (1) an offense under Subsection (a)(2) is a Class A
2-12 misdemeanor, and an offense under Subsection (a)(3) is a Class B
2-13 misdemeanor if the offense is committed against an employee of a
2-14 public or private primary or secondary school while the employee is
2-15 engaged in performing duties within the scope of employment or in
2-16 retaliation for or on account of the employee's performance of a
2-17 duty within the scope of employment; and
2-18 (2) an offense under Subsection (a)(3) is a Class A
2-19 misdemeanor if the offense was committed against an elderly
2-20 individual or disabled individual, as those terms are defined by
2-21 Section 22.04.
2-22 (d) For purposes of Subsection (b)(1)(A), the actor is
2-23 presumed to have known the person assaulted was a public servant if
2-24 the person was wearing a distinctive uniform or badge indicating
2-25 the person's employment as a public servant. For the purposes of
2-26 Subsections (b)(1)(B) and (c)(1), the actor is presumed to have
2-27 known that the person assaulted was a school employee if the actor
3-1 was a student enrolled in or the parent or guardian of a student
3-2 enrolled in the school at which the person assaulted was employed.
3-3 (e) It is not a defense to prosecution under Subsection
3-4 (b)(1)(B) or (c)(1) that the offense occurred off school premises
3-5 or at a time at which school was not in session.
3-6 (f) [(e)] In this section, "family" has the meaning assigned
3-7 by Section 71.003 [71.01], Family Code.
3-8 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
3-9 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
3-10 Act. For the purposes of this section, an offense is committed
3-11 before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
3-12 occurs before the effective date.
3-13 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
3-14 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
3-15 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
3-16 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
3-17 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-18 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-19 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-20 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-21 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.