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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the penalties prescribed for a single violation or |
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repeated violations of certain court orders or conditions of bond |
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in a family violence case. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 25.07, Penal Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (g) and adding Subsection (h) to read as |
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follows: |
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(g) Except as provided by Subsection (h), an [An] offense |
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under this section is a Class A misdemeanor. |
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(h) An offense under this section is a felony of the third |
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degree if [unless] it is shown on the trial of the offense that the |
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defendant: |
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(1) has previously been convicted under this section |
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two or more times; or |
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(2) has violated the order or condition of bond by |
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committing: |
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(A) an assault; |
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(B) [or] the offense of stalking; or |
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(C) an offense under Section 30.02, if the |
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defendant entered the habitation of a protected individual[, in
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which event the offense is a third degree felony]. |
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SECTION 2. Chapter 25, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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Section 25.072 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 25.072. REPEATED VIOLATION OF CERTAIN COURT ORDERS OR |
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CONDITIONS OF BOND IN A FAMILY VIOLENCE CASE. (a) A person commits |
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an offense if, during a period that is 12 months or less in |
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duration, the person two or more times engages in conduct that |
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constitutes an offense under Section 25.07 against another person |
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or persons who are protected individuals under the terms of the |
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court's order. |
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(b) If the jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury are |
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not required to agree unanimously on the specific conduct in which |
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the defendant engaged that constituted an offense under Section |
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25.07 against the person or persons described by Subsection (a) or |
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the exact date when that conduct occurred. The jury must agree |
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unanimously that the defendant, during a period that is 12 months or |
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less in duration, two or more times engaged in conduct that |
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constituted an offense under Section 25.07 against the person or |
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persons described by Subsection (a). |
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(c) A defendant may not be convicted in the same criminal |
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action of another offense the victim of which is an alleged victim |
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of the offense under Subsection (a) and an element of which is any |
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conduct that is alleged as an element of the offense under |
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Subsection (a) unless the other offense: |
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(1) is charged in the alternative; |
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(2) occurred outside the period in which the offense |
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alleged under Subsection (a) was committed; or |
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(3) is considered by the trier of fact to be a lesser |
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included offense of the offense alleged under Subsection (a). |
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(d) A defendant may not be charged with more than one count |
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under Subsection (a) if all of the specific conduct that is alleged |
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to have been engaged in is alleged to have been committed in |
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violation of a single court order. |
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(e) An offense under this section is a felony of the third |
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degree. |
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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 on the date the offense was committed, |
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and 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, 2011. |