78R747 BDH-D

By:  Isett                                                        H.B. No. 957



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the punishment of certain assaults committed against 
employees of primary or secondary schools.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 22.01, Penal Code, is amended to read as 
follows:        
	Sec. 22.01.  ASSAULT.  (a)  A person commits an offense if 
the person:       
		(1)  intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes 
bodily injury to another, including the person's spouse;
		(2)  intentionally or knowingly threatens another with 
imminent bodily injury, including the person's spouse; or
		(3)  intentionally or knowingly causes physical 
contact with another when the person knows or should reasonably 
believe that the other will regard the contact as offensive or 
provocative.
	(b)  An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is a Class A 
misdemeanor, except that the offense is a felony of the third degree 
if the offense is committed against:
		(1)  a person the actor knows is a public servant while 
the public servant is lawfully discharging an official duty, or in 
retaliation or on account of an exercise of official power or 
performance of an official duty as a public servant; [or]
		(2)  a member of the defendant's family or household, if 
it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has been 
previously convicted of an offense against a member of the 
defendant's family or household under this section; or
		(3)  an employee of a public or private primary or 
secondary school while the employee is engaged in performing duties 
within the scope of employment or in retaliation for or on account 
of the employee's performance of a duty within the scope of 
employment.
	(c)  An offense under Subsection (a)(2) or (3) is a Class C 
misdemeanor, except that:
		(1)  an offense under Subsection (a)(2) is a Class A 
misdemeanor, and an offense under Subsection (a)(3) is a Class B 
misdemeanor if the offense is committed against an employee of a 
public or private primary or secondary school while the employee is 
engaged in performing duties within the scope of employment or in 
retaliation for or on account of the employee's performance of a 
duty within the scope of employment; and
		(2)  an offense under Subsection (a)(3) is a Class A 
misdemeanor if the offense was committed against an elderly 
individual or disabled individual, as those terms are defined by 
Section 22.04.
	(d)  For purposes of Subsection (b)(1), the actor is presumed 
to have known the person assaulted was a public servant if the 
person was wearing a distinctive uniform or badge indicating the 
person's employment as a public servant.  For the purposes of 
Subsections (b)(3) and (c)(1), the actor is presumed to have known 
that the person assaulted was a school employee if the actor was a 
student enrolled in or the parent or guardian of a student enrolled 
in the school at which the person assaulted was employed.
	(e)  It is not a defense to prosecution under Subsection 
(b)(3) or (c)(1) that the offense occurred off school premises or at 
a time at which school was not in session.
	(f) [(e)]  In this section:                            
		(1)  "Family" has the meaning assigned by Section 
71.003, Family Code.      
		(2)  "Household" has the meaning assigned by Section 
71.005, Family Code.   
	(g) [(f)]  For the purposes of this section, a defendant has 
been previously convicted of an offense against a member of the 
defendant's family or a member of the defendant's household under 
this section if the defendant was adjudged guilty of the offense or 
entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in return for a grant of 
deferred adjudication, regardless of whether the sentence for the 
offense was ever imposed or whether the sentence was probated and 
the defendant was subsequently discharged from community 
supervision.
	SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies 
only to 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)  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.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.