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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the punishment prescribed for certain attempts to |
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commit an offense on school premises or on the premises of a |
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school-sponsored activity. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended by adding Article 42.0155 to read as follows: |
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Art. 42.0155. FINDING REGARDING ATTEMPT ON SCHOOL PREMISES |
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OR PREMISES OF SCHOOL-SPONSORED ACTIVITY. In the trial of an |
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attempt to commit an offense under Chapter 20, 21, or 22, Penal |
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Code, the judge shall make an affirmative finding of fact and enter |
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that finding in the judgment of the case if, at the guilt or |
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innocence phase of the trial, the judge or jury, whichever is the |
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trier of fact, determines beyond a reasonable doubt that: |
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(1) at the time the attempt was committed: |
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(A) the actor was 18 years of age or older; and |
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(B) the intended victim was younger than 14 years |
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of age; and |
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(2) the attempt was committed on the premises of a |
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public or private school or educational institution or on premises |
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where an official school-sponsored activity was taking place. |
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SECTION 2. Section 15.01(d), Penal Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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(d) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection or |
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another provision of law, an [An] offense under this section is one |
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category lower than the offense attempted, and if the offense |
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attempted is a state jail felony, the offense is a Class A |
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misdemeanor. If the judgment of the case contains an affirmative |
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finding under Article 42.0155, Code of Criminal Procedure, an |
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offense under this section is subject to the same punishment as the |
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punishment prescribed for the offense attempted. |
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SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and |
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the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was |
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committed before that date. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |