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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to creating an offense for infanticide. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 19.01(b), Penal Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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(b) Criminal homicide is murder, capital murder, |
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manslaughter, infanticide, or criminally negligent homicide. |
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SECTION 2. Chapter 19, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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Section 19.08 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 19.08. INFANTICIDE. (a) A person commits an offense |
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if the person wilfully by an act or omission causes the death of a |
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child to whom the person gave birth within the 12-month period |
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preceding the child's death and if, at the time of the act or |
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omission, the person's judgment was impaired as a result of the |
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effects of giving birth or the effects of lactation following the |
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birth. |
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(b) An offense under this section is a state jail felony. |
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SECTION 3. 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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covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the |
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former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of |
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this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of |
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this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that |
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date. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |