By Staples                                            H.B. No. 1428
         76R2122 JMC-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the prosecution of and the punishment for the offense
 1-3     of unlawful restraint.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 20.01(1), Penal Code, is amended to read
 1-6     as follows:
 1-7                 (1)  "Restrain" means to restrict a person's movements
 1-8     without consent, so as to interfere substantially with the person's
 1-9     [his] liberty, by moving the person [him] from one place to another
1-10     or by confining the person [him].  Restraint is "without consent"
1-11     if it is accomplished by:
1-12                       (A)  force, intimidation, or deception; or
1-13                       (B)  any means, including acquiescence of the
1-14     victim, if:
1-15                             (i)  the victim [he] is a child who is less
1-16     than 14 years of age or an incompetent person and the parent,
1-17     guardian, or person or institution acting in loco parentis has not
1-18     acquiesced in the movement or confinement; or
1-19                             (ii)  the victim is a child who is 14 years
1-20     of age or older and younger than 17 years of age, the victim is
1-21     taken outside of the state and outside a 120-mile radius from the
1-22     victim's residence, and the parent, guardian, or person or
1-23     institution acting in loco parentis has not acquiesced in the
1-24     movement.
 2-1           SECTION 2.  Section 20.02, Penal Code, is amended by amending
 2-2     Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
 2-3           (c)  An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor
 2-4     unless:
 2-5                 (1)  the person restrained was a child younger than 17
 2-6     [14] years of age, in which event the offense is a Class A
 2-7     misdemeanor; or
 2-8                 (2)  the actor recklessly exposes the victim to a
 2-9     substantial risk of serious bodily injury, in which event it is a
2-10     felony of the third  degree.
2-11           (e)  It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
2-12     section that:
2-13                 (1)  the person restrained was a child who is 14 years
2-14     of age or older and younger than 17 years of age;
2-15                 (2)  the actor does not restrain the child by force,
2-16     intimidation, or deception; and
2-17                 (3)  the actor is not more than three years older than
2-18     the child.
2-19           SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
2-20     to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
2-21     An  offense  committed  before  the  effective  date of this Act is
2-22     covered by the law in effect when the offense  was  committed, and
2-23     the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.  For
2-24     purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
2-25     effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
2-26     before that date.
2-27           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
 3-1           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the
 3-2     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
 3-3     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
 3-4     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
 3-5     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.