79R3309 BDH-D

By:  Quintanilla                                                  H.B. No. 714



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the punishment for criminal simulation committed 
against an elderly person.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 32.22(b), Penal Code, is amended to read 
as follows:     
	(b)  An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, 
except that the offense is a state jail felony if it is shown on the 
trial of the offense that in committing the offense the defendant 
defrauded or harmed an elderly individual, as that term is defined 
by Section 22.04.
	SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only 
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.  
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is 
governed by the law in effect when 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 the 
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was 
committed before that date.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.