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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to increasing the punishment for certain felony offenses |
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committed by a person who is unlawfully present in the United |
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States. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Article 42.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended by adding Section 12 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 12. In addition to the information described by |
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Section 1, the judgment must reflect affirmative findings entered |
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pursuant to Article 42.0151. |
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SECTION 2. Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended by adding Article 42.0151 to read as follows: |
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Art. 42.0151. FINDING REGARDING DEFENDANT'S IMMIGRATION |
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STATUS. In the trial of an offense punishable as a felony, other |
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than a capital felony, the judge shall make an affirmative finding |
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of fact and enter the affirmative finding in the judgment in the |
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case if the judge determines that, at the time of the offense, the |
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defendant was not a citizen or national of the United States and was |
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not lawfully present in the United States. |
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SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Penal Code, is amended |
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by adding Section 12.501 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 12.501. PENALTY IF OFFENSE COMMITTED BY DEFENDANT |
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UNLAWFULLY PRESENT. If the court makes an affirmative finding |
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under Article 42.0151, Code of Criminal Procedure, in the trial of |
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an offense punishable as a felony, other than a first degree felony, |
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the punishment for the offense is increased to the punishment |
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prescribed for the next highest category of offense. If the offense |
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is a first degree felony, the defendant shall be punished by |
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imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life |
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without parole. |
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SECTION 4. 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 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |