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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the punishment for failing to stop following a motor |
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vehicle or vessel accident. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 31.127(d), Parks and Wildlife Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(d) The operator of a vessel who is involved in a collision, |
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accident, or other casualty that results in death or serious bodily |
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injury to another person and fails to comply with Section 31.104 |
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commits an offense that is a Parks and Wildlife Code felony, except |
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that if it is shown on the trial of the offense that another person |
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died as a result of the collision, accident, or other casualty, the |
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maximum term of confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal |
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Justice is increased to 20 years. |
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SECTION 2. Section 550.021(c), Transportation Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(c) A person commits an offense if the person does not stop |
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or does not comply with the requirements of this section. An |
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offense under this section: |
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(1) involving an accident resulting in death of a |
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person is a felony of the second degree; and |
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(2) involving an accident resulting in injury to but |
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not death of a person is punishable by: |
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(A) [(1)] imprisonment in the [institutional
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division of the] Texas Department of Criminal Justice for not more |
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than five years or confinement in the county jail for not more than |
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one year; |
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(B) [(2)] a fine not to exceed $5,000; or |
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(C) [(3)] both the fine and the imprisonment or |
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confinement. |
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SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies |
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only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this |
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Act. For the purposes of this section, an offense is committed |
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before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense |
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occurs before that date. |
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(b) An offense committed before the effective date of this |
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Act is governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |