By Hartnett                                            H.B. No. 973
         76R634 KEL-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to periods of limitation for certain felonies.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1.  Article 12.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
 1-5     amended to read as follows:
 1-6           Art. 12.01.  FELONIES.  Except as provided in Article 12.03,
 1-7     felony indictments may be presented within these limits, and not
 1-8     afterward:
 1-9                 (1)  no limitation:  murder and manslaughter;
1-10                 (2)  ten years from the date of the commission of the
1-11     offense:
1-12                       (A)  theft of any estate, real, personal or
1-13     mixed, by an executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, with
1-14     intent to defraud any creditor, heir, legatee, ward, distributee,
1-15     beneficiary or settlor of a trust interested in such estate;
1-16                       (B)  theft by a public servant of government
1-17     property over which he exercises control in his official capacity;
1-18                       (C)  forgery or the uttering, using or passing of
1-19     forged instruments;
1-20                       (D)  indecency with a child under Section
1-21     21.11(a)(2), Penal Code;
1-22                 (3)  nine [seven] years from the date of the commission
1-23     of the offense:
1-24                       (A)  misapplication of fiduciary property or
 2-1     property of a financial institution;
 2-2                       (B)  securing execution of document by deception;
 2-3                       (C) [(4)  five years from the date of the
 2-4     commission of the offense:]
 2-5                       [(A)]  theft, burglary, robbery;
 2-6                       (D) [(B)]  arson;
 2-7                       (E) [(C)]  sexual assault, except as provided in
 2-8     Subdivision (4) [Subsection (5) of this article];
 2-9                 (4) [(5)]  ten years from the 18th birthday of the
2-10     victim of the offense:
2-11                       (A)  indecency with a child under Section
2-12     21.11(a)(1), Penal Code;
2-13                       (B)  sexual assault under Section 22.011(a)(2),
2-14     Penal Code;
2-15                       (C)  aggravated sexual assault under Section
2-16     22.021(a)(1)(B), Penal Code;
2-17                 (5)  eight [(6)  three] years from the date of the
2-18     commission of the offense:  all other felonies.
2-19           SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act does not apply
2-20     to an offense the prosecution of which became barred by limitation
2-21     under Article 12.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, before the
2-22     effective date of this Act.  The prosecution of that offense
2-23     remains barred as though this Act had not taken effect.
2-24           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-25           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-26     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-27     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
 3-1     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
 3-2     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.