By Naishtat H.B. No. 222
76R1355 JMC-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the murder of a juvenile probation officer, community
1-3 supervision and corrections department officer, or parole officer
1-4 as a capital offense.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Section 19.03, Penal Code, is amended by amending
1-7 Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
1-8 (a) A person commits an offense if he commits murder as
1-9 defined under Section 19.02(b)(1) and:
1-10 (1) the person murders an [a peace] officer or fireman
1-11 listed in Subsection (d) who is acting in the lawful discharge of
1-12 an official duty and who the person knows is such an [a peace]
1-13 officer or fireman;
1-14 (2) the person intentionally commits the murder in the
1-15 course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary,
1-16 robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, or obstruction or
1-17 retaliation;
1-18 (3) the person commits the murder for remuneration or
1-19 the promise of remuneration or employs another to commit the murder
1-20 for remuneration or the promise of remuneration;
1-21 (4) the person commits the murder while escaping or
1-22 attempting to escape from a penal institution;
1-23 (5) the person, while incarcerated in a penal
1-24 institution, murders another:
2-1 (A) who is employed in the operation of the
2-2 penal institution; or
2-3 (B) with the intent to establish, maintain, or
2-4 participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination;
2-5 (6) the person:
2-6 (A) while incarcerated for an offense under this
2-7 section or Section 19.02, murders another; or
2-8 (B) while serving a sentence of life
2-9 imprisonment or a term of 99 years for an offense under Section
2-10 20.04, 22.021, or 29.03, murders another;
2-11 (7) the person murders more than one person:
2-12 (A) during the same criminal transaction; or
2-13 (B) during different criminal transactions but
2-14 the murders are committed pursuant to the same scheme or course of
2-15 conduct; or
2-16 (8) the person murders an individual under six years
2-17 of age.
2-18 (d) Subsection (a)(1) applies for an individual who is a:
2-19 (1) peace officer;
2-20 (2) fireman;
2-21 (3) juvenile probation officer;
2-22 (4) community supervision and corrections department
2-23 officer appointed or employed under Section 76.004, Government
2-24 Code; or
2-25 (5) parole officer.
2-26 SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
2-27 to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
3-1 An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
3-2 covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and
3-3 the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
3-4 purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
3-5 effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
3-6 before that date.
3-7 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
3-8 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-9 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-10 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-11 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-12 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.