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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the prosecution and punishment of the offense of injury |
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to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 22.04(c)(3), Penal Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(3) "Disabled individual" means a person: |
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(A) with one or more of the following: |
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(i) autism spectrum disorder, as defined by |
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Section 1355.001, Insurance Code; |
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(ii) developmental disability, as defined |
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by Section 112.042, Human Resources Code; |
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(iii) intellectual disability, as defined |
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by Section 591.003, Health and Safety Code; |
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(iv) severe emotional disturbance, as |
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defined by Section 261.001, Family Code; or |
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(v) traumatic brain injury, as defined by |
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Section 92.001, Health and Safety Code; or |
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(B) [older than 14 years of age] who otherwise by |
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reason of age or physical or mental disease, defect, or injury is |
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substantially unable to protect the person's self [himself] from |
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harm or to provide food, shelter, or medical care for the person's |
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self [himself]. |
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SECTION 2. Section 22.04, Penal Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (l) and adding Subsection (m) to read as |
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follows: |
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(l) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this |
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section: |
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(1) that the act or omission was based on treatment in |
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accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized religious |
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method of healing with a generally accepted record of efficacy; |
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(2) for a person charged with an act of omission |
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causing to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual a |
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condition described by Subsection (a)(1), (2), or (3) that: |
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(A) there is no evidence that, on the date prior |
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to the offense charged, the defendant was aware of an incident of |
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injury to the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual and |
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failed to report the incident; and |
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(B) the person: |
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(i) was a victim of family violence, as that |
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term is defined by Section 71.004, Family Code, committed by a |
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person who is also charged with an offense against the child, |
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elderly individual, or disabled individual under this section or |
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any other section of this title; |
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(ii) did not cause a condition described by |
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Subsection (a)(1), (2), or (3); and |
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(iii) did not reasonably believe at the |
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time of the omission that an effort to prevent the person also |
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charged with an offense against the child, elderly individual, or |
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disabled individual from committing the offense would have an |
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effect; or |
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(3) that: |
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(A) the actor was not more than three years older |
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than the victim at the time of the offense; and |
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(B) the victim was a nondisabled or disabled |
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child at the time of the offense. |
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(m) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under |
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Subsections (a)(1), (2), and (3) for injury to a disabled |
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individual that the person did not know and could not reasonably |
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have known that the individual was a disabled individual, as |
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defined by Subsection (c), at the time of the offense. |
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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 was |
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committed before that date. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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