By Jones of Dallas, Davis of Harris,                  H.B. No. 2222
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the prosecution and punishment of injury to a child,
 1-3     elderly individual, or disabled individual.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Section 22.04(c)(2), Penal Code, is amended to
 1-6     read as follows:
 1-7                 (2)  "Elderly individual" means a person 60 [65] years
 1-8     of age or older.
 1-9           SECTION 2. Sections 22.04(d), (f), and (g), Penal Code, are
1-10     amended to read as follows:
1-11           (d)  The actor, including an employee of a nursing facility
1-12     licensed under Chapter 242, Health and Safety Code, an assisted
1-13     living facility licensed under Chapter 247, Health and Safety Code,
1-14     and an intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded
1-15     licensed under Chapter 252, Health and Safety Code, has assumed
1-16     care, custody, or control if he has by act, words, or course of
1-17     conduct acted so as to cause a reasonable person to conclude that
1-18     he has accepted responsibility for protection, food, shelter, and
1-19     medical care for a child, elderly individual, or disabled
1-20     individual.
1-21           (f)  An offense under Subsection (a)(3) is a felony of the
1-22     second [third] degree when the conduct is committed intentionally
1-23     or knowingly.  When the conduct is engaged in recklessly it shall
1-24     be a [state jail] felony of the third degree.
1-25           (g)  An offense under Subsection (a) when the person acts
 2-1     with criminal negligence shall be a [state jail] felony of the
 2-2     third degree.
 2-3           SECTION 3. (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
 2-4     only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
 2-5     Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
 2-6     the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
 2-7     before the effective date.
 2-8           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this
 2-9     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
2-10     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
2-11           SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.