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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to an offense committed against a person because of bias or |
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prejudice on the basis of gender identity or expression. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Article 42.014(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, |
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is amended to read as follows: |
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(a) In the trial of an offense under Title 5, Penal Code, or |
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Section 28.02, 28.03, or 28.08, Penal Code, the judge shall make an |
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affirmative finding of fact and enter the affirmative finding in |
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the judgment of the case if at the guilt or innocence phase of the |
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trial, the judge or the jury, whichever is the trier of fact, |
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determines beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant |
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intentionally selected the person against whom the offense was |
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committed or intentionally selected property damaged or affected as |
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a result of the offense because of the defendant's bias or prejudice |
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against a group identified by race, color, disability, religion, |
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national origin or ancestry, age, gender, [or] sexual preference, |
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or gender identity or expression. |
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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 September 1, 2007. An offense |
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committed before September 1, 2007, is governed by the law in effect |
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when the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in |
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effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense |
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was committed before September 1, 2007, if any element of the |
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offense occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |