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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the conditions of community supervision to be imposed |
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on a defendant who is 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. Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended by adding Article 42.0145 to read as follows: |
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Art. 42.0145. FINDING THAT OFFENSE WAS COMMITTED BY A |
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MEMBER OF A CRIMINAL STREET GANG. In the trial of an offense, the |
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judge shall make an affirmative finding of fact and enter the |
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affirmative finding in the judgment of the case if, at the guilt or |
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innocence phase of the trial, the trier of fact determines beyond a |
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reasonable doubt that at the time the offense was committed, the |
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defendant was a member of a criminal street gang as defined by |
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Section 71.01, Penal Code. |
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SECTION 2. Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended by adding Section 13E to read as follows: |
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Sec. 13E. COMMUNITY SUPERVISION FOR OFFENSE COMMITTED BY A |
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MEMBER OF A CRIMINAL STREET GANG. A court granting community |
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supervision to a defendant convicted of an offense for which the |
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court has made an affirmative finding under Article 42.0145 shall |
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require as a condition of community supervision that the defendant |
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not knowingly communicate with another member of a criminal street |
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gang except as authorized by the court or by an employee of a law |
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enforcement agency, as defined by Article 59.01, for the purpose of |
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aiding in a criminal investigation. |
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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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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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |