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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the prosecution of and punishment for the offense of |
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tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 37.09, Penal Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsection (e) to read |
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as follows: |
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(c) An offense under Subsection (a) or Subsection (d)(1) is |
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a felony of the third degree, unless the thing altered, destroyed, |
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or concealed is a human corpse, in which case the offense is a |
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felony of the second degree. An offense under Subsection (d)(2) is a |
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Class A misdemeanor. |
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(d) A person commits an offense if the person: |
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(1) knowing that an offense has been committed, |
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alters, destroys, or conceals any record, document, or thing with |
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intent to impair its verity, legibility, or availability as |
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evidence in any subsequent investigation of or official proceeding |
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related to the offense; or |
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(2) observes a human corpse [remains] under |
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circumstances in which a reasonable person would believe that an |
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offense had been committed, knows or reasonably should know that a |
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law enforcement agency is not aware of the existence of or location |
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of the corpse [remains], and fails to report the existence of and |
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location of the corpse [remains] to a law enforcement agency. |
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(e) In this section, "human corpse" has the meaning assigned |
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by Section 42.08. |
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SECTION 2. 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 at the time the offense was committed, |
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and 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |