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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the imposition of consecutive sentencing for offenses |
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committed by a member of a criminal street gang. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Article 42.08(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(b) The court [If a defendant is sentenced for an offense
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committed while the defendant was an inmate in the institutional
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division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the
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defendant has not completed the sentence he was serving at the time
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of the offense, the judge] shall order the sentence imposed in a |
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second or [for the] subsequent conviction [offense] to commence |
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immediately on completion of the sentence imposed in a preceding |
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conviction if: |
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(1) the defendant committed the offense that is the |
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subject of the second or subsequent conviction while the defendant |
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was an inmate in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice serving |
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the sentence imposed in a preceding conviction; or |
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(2) the judgment for each conviction includes, as a |
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finding or as an element of the underlying offense, participation |
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in a criminal street gang as defined by Section 71.01, Penal Code |
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[for the original offense]. |
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SECTION 2. Section 3.03(a), Penal Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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(a) When the accused is found guilty of more than one |
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offense arising out of the same criminal episode prosecuted in a |
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single criminal action, a sentence for each offense for which he has |
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been found guilty shall be pronounced. Except as provided by |
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Subsection (b) and Section 3.05, the sentences shall run |
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concurrently. |
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SECTION 3. Section 3.04(b), Penal Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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(b) In the event of severance under this section, the |
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provisions of Section 3.03 do not apply, and, except as provided by |
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Section 3.05, the court in its discretion may order the sentences to |
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run either concurrently or consecutively. |
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SECTION 4. Chapter 3, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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Section 3.05 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 3.05. MULTIPLE OFFENSES COMMITTED BY MEMBER OF |
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CRIMINAL STREET GANG. If the defendant is convicted of more than |
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one offense arising out of the same criminal episode and the |
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judgment of conviction with respect to each offense includes, as a |
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finding or as an element of the offense, participation in a criminal |
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street gang as defined by Section 71.01, the sentences for the |
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offenses run consecutively. |
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SECTION 5. 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 occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |