78R5778 GWK-D

By:  Bonnen                                                       H.B. No. 1864



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the punishment for the offense of attempted murder.               
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 15.01, Penal Code, is amended by 
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (e) to read as 
follows:
	(d)  Except as provided by Subsection (e), an [An] offense 
under this section is one category lower than the offense 
attempted, and if the offense attempted is a state jail felony, the 
offense is a Class A misdemeanor.
	(e)  If the offense attempted is murder under Section 19.02, 
the offense is punishable by imprisonment in the institutional 
division for any term of not more than 30 years or less than 2 years.  
In addition to imprisonment, an individual adjudged guilty of 
attempted murder may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000.
	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.