1-1     By:  Hartnett, et al. (Senate Sponsor - West)          H.B. No. 460
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 2001;
 1-3     May 11, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
 1-4     Justice; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote:
 1-5     Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to the penalty for the offense of prostitution.
 1-9           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-10           SECTION 1. Section 43.02, Penal Code, is amended by amending
1-11     Subsection (c) and by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
1-12           (c)  Except as provided by Subsection (d), an [An] offense
1-13     under this section is a Class B misdemeanor, unless the actor has
1-14     been convicted previously under this section, in which event it is
1-15     a Class A misdemeanor.
1-16           (d)  An offense under this section is a state jail felony if
1-17     the judge or jury, whichever is the trier of fact, determines
1-18     beyond a reasonable doubt at the guilt or innocence phase of the
1-19     trial that:
1-20                 (1)  the offense was committed in or within 300 feet of
1-21     a residential area, as defined by Section 244.001, Local Government
1-22     Code; and
1-23                 (2)  the defendant has previously been convicted three
1-24     or more times under this section.
1-25           SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
1-26     applies only to an offense committed on or after that date. An
1-27     offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered
1-28     by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former
1-29     law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
1-30     section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this
1-31     Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
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