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Amend SB 643 (House Committee Printing) by adding the
following SECTIONS to the bill and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS
of the bill accordingly:
SECTION ____. Article 38.072, Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
Art. 38.072. HEARSAY STATEMENT OF CERTAIN [CHILD] ABUSE
VICTIMS [VICTIM]
Sec. 1. This article applies to a proceeding in the
prosecution of an offense under any of the following provisions of
the Penal Code, if committed against a child 12 years of age or
younger or a person with a disability:
(1) Chapter 21 (Sexual Offenses) or 22 (Assaultive
Offenses);
(2) Section 25.02 (Prohibited Sexual Conduct); or
(3) Section 43.25 (Sexual Performance by a Child).
Sec. 2. (a) This article applies only to statements that
describe the alleged offense that:
(1) were made by the child or person with a disability
against whom the offense was allegedly committed; and
(2) were made to the first person, 18 years of age or
older, other than the defendant, to whom the child or person with a
disability made a statement about the offense.
(b) A statement that meets the requirements of Subsection
(a) [of this article] is not inadmissible because of the hearsay
rule if:
(1) on or before the 14th day before the date the
proceeding begins, the party intending to offer the statement:
(A) notifies the adverse party of its intention
to do so;
(B) provides the adverse party with the name of
the witness through whom it intends to offer the statement; and
(C) provides the adverse party with a written
summary of the statement;
(2) the trial court finds, in a hearing conducted
outside the presence of the jury, that the statement is reliable
based on the time, content, and circumstances of the statement; and
(3) the child or person with a disability testifies or
is available to testify at the proceeding in court or in any other
manner provided by law.
Sec. 3. In this article, "person with a disability" means a
person 13 years of age or older who because of age or physical or
mental disease, disability, or injury is substantially unable to
protect the person's self from harm or to provide food, shelter, or
medical care for the person's self.
SECTION ____. Section 54.031, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 54.031. HEARSAY STATEMENT OF CERTAIN [CHILD] ABUSE
VICTIMS [VICTIM]. (a) This section applies to a hearing under
this title in which a child is alleged to be a delinquent child on
the basis of a violation of any of the following provisions of the
Penal Code, if a child 12 years of age or younger or a person with a
disability is the alleged victim of the violation:
(1) Chapter 21 (Sexual Offenses) or 22 (Assaultive
Offenses);
(2) Section 25.02 (Prohibited Sexual Conduct); or
(3) Section 43.25 (Sexual Performance by a Child).
(b) This section applies only to statements that describe
the alleged violation that:
(1) were made by the child or person with a disability
who is the alleged victim of the violation; and
(2) were made to the first person, 18 years of age or
older, to whom the child or person with a disability made a
statement about the violation.
(c) A statement that meets the requirements of Subsection
(b) [of this section] is not inadmissible because of the hearsay
rule if:
(1) on or before the 14th day before the date the
hearing begins, the party intending to offer the statement:
(A) notifies each other party of its intention to
do so;
(B) provides each other party with the name of
the witness through whom it intends to offer the statement; and
(C) provides each other party with a written
summary of the statement;
(2) the juvenile court finds, in a hearing conducted
outside the presence of the jury, that the statement is reliable
based on the time, content, and circumstances of the statement; and
(3) the child or person with a disability who is the
alleged victim testifies or is available to testify at the hearing
in court or in any other manner provided by law.
(d) In this section, "person with a disability" means a
person 13 years of age or older who because of age or physical or
mental disease, disability, or injury is substantially unable to
protect the person's self from harm or to provide food, shelter, or
medical care for the person's self.
SECTION ____. The changes in law made by Article 38.072,
Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, and Section
54.031, Family Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a
criminal proceeding that commences on or after the effective date
of this Act. A criminal proceeding that commences before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the
proceeding commenced, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.