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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the failure to report a missing child or the death of a |
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child; providing penalties. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as Caylee's Law. |
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SECTION 2. Chapter 38, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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Sections 38.20 and 38.21 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 38.20. FAILURE TO REPORT MISSING CHILD. (a) A person |
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who has custody, care, or control of a child commits an offense if |
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the person: |
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(1) knows or should have known that the child |
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disappeared or otherwise became missing while in the person's |
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custody, care, or control; and |
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(2) with the intent to conceal an offense, other than |
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an offense under this section, does not within 24 hours of |
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discovering that the child disappeared or became missing make a |
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report to law enforcement authorities that the child disappeared or |
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became missing. |
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(b) In this section, "child" means a person younger than 18 |
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years of age. |
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(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), an offense under |
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this section is a Class A misdemeanor. |
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(d) An offense under this section is a state jail felony if |
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the child suffers serious bodily injury, permanent disability, or |
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permanent disfigurement while missing. |
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Sec. 38.21. FAILURE TO REPORT DEATH OF CHILD. (a) A person |
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who has custody, care, or control of a child commits an offense if |
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the person: |
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(1) knows or should have known that the child died by |
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homicide or under other suspicious circumstances while in the |
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person's custody, care, or control; and |
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(2) does not within six hours of discovering the |
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child's death make a report of the child's death to: |
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(A) law enforcement authorities; or |
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(B) the county coroner, medical examiner, or |
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justice of the peace acting as coroner or medical examiner. |
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(b) In this section, "child" means a person younger than 18 |
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years of age. |
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(c) An offense under this section is a state jail felony. |
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(d) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that |
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the child died: |
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(1) in a medical facility; or |
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(2) in the care of a physician, a health care |
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practitioner, or emergency services personnel and was subsequently |
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pronounced dead by a person legally authorized to make that |
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determination. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |