SRC-TAG S.B. 1092 78(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 1092
78R1607 GWK-DBy: Shapiro
Criminal Justice
4/26/2003
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that "virtual" images
cannot be deemed as illegal child pornography because an actual child was
not exploited in the process.  However, numerous prosecutors believe that
child pornographers will claim that their images are "virtual," in order
to avoid harsh penalties.  As proposed, S.B. 1092 requires defense counsel
to provide notice to the court not later than the 10th day before trial if
the defendant plans to offer evidence to establish that the material in
question either does not depict a person at all or depicts a person who
was 18 years of age at the time of the offense.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to
a state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 43.26, Penal Code, by adding Subsection (h), as
follows: 

(h)  Authorizes the defendant, in a prosecution under this section, to
offer evidence to establish that the material does not depict a person or
depicts a person who was 18 years of age or older at the time of the
commission of the offense only if the attorney representing the defendant
provides notice of that intention to the court and the attorney
representing the state not later than the 10th day before the date on
which the trial on the merits commences. 

SECTION 2.  (a)  Provides that the change in law made by this Act applies
only to the 
prosecution of an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs before the
effective date. 

(b)  Provides that the prosecution of an offense committed before the
effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the
offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose. 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 2003.