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                                                                  H.B. No. 325




AN ACT

relating to the punishment for the offenses of failure to identify 
and failure to report.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 38.02, Penal Code, is amended by 
amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsection (e) to read 
as follows:
	(c)  Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (d) and 
(e), an offense under this section is:
		(1)  a Class C misdemeanor if the offense is committed 
under Subsection (a); or
		(2)  a Class B misdemeanor if the offense is committed 
under Subsection (b).
	(d)  If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this 
section that the defendant was a fugitive from justice at the time 
of the offense, the offense is:
		(1)  a Class B misdemeanor if the offense is committed 
under Subsection (a); or
		(2)  a Class A misdemeanor if the offense is committed 
under Subsection (b).
	(e)  If conduct that constitutes an offense under this 
section also constitutes an offense under Section 106.07, Alcoholic 
Beverage Code, the actor may be prosecuted only under Section 
106.07.
	SECTION 2.  Chapter 38, Penal Code, is amended by adding 
Section 38.171 to read as follows:
	Sec. 38.171.  FAILURE TO REPORT FELONY.  (a)  A person 
commits an offense if the person:
		(1)  observes the commission of a felony under 
circumstances in which a reasonable person would believe that an 
offense had been committed in which serious bodily injury or death 
may have resulted; and
		(2)  fails to immediately report the commission of the 
offense to a peace officer or law enforcement agency under 
circumstances in which:
			(A)  a reasonable person would believe that the 
commission of the offense had not been reported; and
			(B)  the person could immediately report the 
commission of the offense without placing himself or herself in 
danger of suffering serious bodily injury or death.
	(b)  An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.            
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003, and 
applies only to an offense committed on or after that date.  An 
offense committed before September 1, 2003, is covered by the law in 
effect at the time the offense was committed, and the former law is 
continued in effect for that purpose.  For purposes of this section, 
an offense was committed before September 1, 2003, if any element of 
the offense was committed before that date.




______________________________              ______________________________
 
   President of the Senate                               Speaker of the House      

	I certify that H.B. No. 325 was passed by the House on March 
28, 2003, by a non-record vote; and that the House concurred in 
Senate amendments to H.B. No. 325 on May 30, 2003, by a non-record 
vote.

                                                  ______________________________
                                                     Chief Clerk of the House   

	
I certify that H.B. No. 325 was passed by the Senate, with 
amendments, on May 28, 2003, by a viva-voce vote.

                                                  ______________________________
                                                      Secretary of the Senate   



APPROVED: __________________                                                
 
                Date                                                         




 
         __________________                                              
 
              Governor