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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the punishment for aggravated assault of emergency |
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services personnel; imposing a criminal penalty. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Sections 22.02(b), (c), and (d), Penal Code, are |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second |
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degree, except that the offense is a felony of the first degree if: |
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(1) the actor uses a deadly weapon during the |
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commission of the assault and causes serious bodily injury to a |
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person whose relationship to or association with the defendant is |
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described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code; or |
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(2) regardless of whether the offense is committed |
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under Subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2), the offense is committed: |
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(A) by a public servant acting under color of the |
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servant's office or employment; |
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(B) against a person the actor knows is a public |
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servant while the public servant is lawfully discharging an |
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official duty, or in retaliation or on account of an exercise of |
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official power or performance of an official duty as a public |
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servant; |
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(C) in retaliation against or on account of the |
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service of another as a witness, prospective witness, informant, or |
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person who has reported the occurrence of a crime; [or] |
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(D) against a person the actor knows is a |
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security officer while the officer is performing a duty as a |
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security officer; or |
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(E) against a person the actor knows is emergency |
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services personnel while the person is providing emergency |
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services. |
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(c) The actor is presumed to have known the person assaulted |
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was a public servant, [or] a security officer, or emergency |
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services personnel if the person was wearing a distinctive uniform |
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or badge indicating the person's employment as a public servant or |
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status as a security officer or emergency services personnel. |
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(d) In this section: |
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(1) "Emergency services personnel" has the meaning |
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assigned by Section 22.01. |
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(2) "Security officer" [, "security officer"] means a |
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commissioned security officer as defined by Section 1702.002, |
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Occupations Code, or a noncommissioned security officer registered |
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under Section 1702.221, Occupations Code. |
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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 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |