| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the punishment for aggravated assault of emergency |
|
|
services personnel; imposing a criminal penalty. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Sections 22.02(b), (c), and (d), Penal Code, are |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second |
|
|
degree, except that the offense is a felony of the first degree if: |
|
|
(1) the actor uses a deadly weapon during the |
|
|
commission of the assault and causes serious bodily injury to a |
|
|
person whose relationship to or association with the defendant is |
|
|
described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code; |
|
|
(2) regardless of whether the offense is committed |
|
|
under Subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2), the offense is committed: |
|
|
(A) by a public servant acting under color of the |
|
|
servant's office or employment; |
|
|
(B) against a person the actor knows is a public |
|
|
servant while the public servant is lawfully discharging an |
|
|
official duty, or in retaliation or on account of an exercise of |
|
|
official power or performance of an official duty as a public |
|
|
servant; |
|
|
(C) in retaliation against or on account of the |
|
|
service of another as a witness, prospective witness, informant, or |
|
|
person who has reported the occurrence of a crime; [or] |
|
|
(D) against a person the actor knows is a |
|
|
security officer while the officer is performing a duty as a |
|
|
security officer; or |
|
|
(E) against a person the actor knows is emergency |
|
|
services personnel while the person is providing emergency |
|
|
services; or |
|
|
(3) the actor is in a motor vehicle, as defined by |
|
|
Section 501.002, Transportation Code, and: |
|
|
(A) knowingly discharges a firearm at or in the |
|
|
direction of a habitation, building, or vehicle; |
|
|
(B) is reckless as to whether the habitation, |
|
|
building, or vehicle is occupied; and |
|
|
(C) in discharging the firearm, causes serious |
|
|
bodily injury to any person. |
|
|
(c) The actor is presumed to have known the person assaulted |
|
|
was a public servant, [or] a security officer, or emergency |
|
|
services personnel if the person was wearing a distinctive uniform |
|
|
or badge indicating the person's employment as a public servant or |
|
|
status as a security officer or emergency services personnel. |
|
|
(d) In this section: |
|
|
(1) "Emergency services personnel" has the meaning |
|
|
assigned by Section 22.01. |
|
|
(2) "Security officer" [, "security officer"] means a |
|
|
commissioned security officer as defined by Section 1702.002, |
|
|
Occupations Code, or a noncommissioned security officer registered |
|
|
under Section 1702.221, Occupations Code. |
|
|
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
|
|
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
|
|
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
|
|
governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and |
|
|
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
|
|
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
|
|
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was |
|
|
committed before that date. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |