S.B. No. 1232

AN ACT

relating to inappropriate conduct between a person and an animal; creating a criminal offense.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 21.07(a), Penal Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) A person commits an offense if the person [he] knowingly engages in any of the following acts in a public place or, if not in a public place, the person [he] is reckless about whether another is present who will be offended or alarmed by the person's [his]:

(1) act of sexual intercourse;

(2) act of deviate sexual intercourse; or

(3) act of sexual contact[; or

[(4) act involving contact between the person's mouth or genitals and the anus or genitals of an animal or fowl].

SECTION 2. Chapter 21, Penal Code, is amended by adding Section 21.09 to read as follows:

Sec. 21.09. BESTIALITY. (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly:

(1) engages in an act involving contact between:

(A) the person's mouth, anus, or genitals and the anus or genitals of an animal; or

(B) the person's anus or genitals and the mouth of the animal;

(2) fondles or touches the anus or genitals of an animal in a manner that is not a generally accepted and otherwise lawful animal husbandry or veterinary practice, including touching through clothing;

(3) causes an animal to contact the seminal fluid of the person;

(4) inserts any part of a person's body or any object into the anus or genitals of an animal in a manner that is not a generally accepted and otherwise lawful animal husbandry or veterinary practice;

(5) possesses, sells, transfers, purchases, or otherwise obtains an animal with the intent that the animal be used for conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4);

(6) organizes, promotes, conducts, or participates as an observer of conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4);

(7) causes a person to engage or aids a person in engaging in conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4);

(8) permits conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4) to occur on any premises under the person's control;

(9) engages in conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4) in the presence of a child younger than 18 years of age; or

(10) advertises, offers, or accepts the offer of an animal with the intent that the animal be used in this state for conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4).

(b) An offense under this section is a state jail felony, unless the offense is committed under Subsection (a)(9) or results in serious bodily injury or death of the animal, in which event the offense is a felony of the second degree.

(c) It is an exception to the application of this section that the conduct engaged in by the actor is a generally accepted and otherwise lawful animal husbandry or veterinary practice.

SECTION 3. Section 42.092, Penal Code, is amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) to read as follows:

(c) An offense under Subsection (b)(3), (4), (5), (6), or (9) is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail felony if the person has previously been convicted two times under this section, two times under Section 42.09, or one time under this section and one time under Section 42.09.

(c-1) An offense under Subsection (b)(1) or[,] (2) is a felony of the third degree, except that the offense is a felony of the second degree if the person has previously been convicted under Subsection (b)(1), (2), (7), or (8) or under Section 42.09.

(c-2) An offense under Subsection (b)(7)[, (7),] or (8) is a state jail felony, except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the person has previously been convicted [two times] under this section[, two times under Section 42.09,] or [one time under this section and one time] under Section 42.09.

SECTION 4. Article 42A.511, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

Art. 42A.511. COMMUNITY SUPERVISION FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES INVOLVING ANIMALS. (a) If a judge grants community supervision to a defendant convicted of an offense under Section 42.09, 42.091, 42.092, or 42.10, Penal Code, the judge may require the defendant to attend a responsible pet owner course sponsored by a municipal animal shelter, as defined by Section 823.001, Health and Safety Code, that:

(1) receives federal, state, county, or municipal funds; and

(2) serves the county in which the court is located.

(b) If a judge grants community supervision to a defendant convicted of an offense under Section 21.09, Penal Code, the judge may:

(1) require the defendant to relinquish custody of any animals in the defendant's possession;

(2) prohibit the defendant from possessing or exercising control over any animals or residing in a household where animals are present; or

(3) require the defendant to participate in a psychological counseling or other appropriate treatment program for a period to be determined by the court.

SECTION 5. Article 62.001(5), Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:

(5) "Reportable conviction or adjudication" means a conviction or adjudication, including an adjudication of delinquent conduct or a deferred adjudication, that, regardless of the pendency of an appeal, is a conviction for or an adjudication for or based on:

(A) a violation of Section 21.02 (Continuous sexual abuse of young child or children), 21.09 (Bestiality), 21.11 (Indecency with a child), 22.011 (Sexual assault), 22.021 (Aggravated sexual assault), or 25.02 (Prohibited sexual conduct), Penal Code;

(B) a violation of Section 43.05 (Compelling prostitution), 43.25 (Sexual performance by a child), or 43.26 (Possession or promotion of child pornography), Penal Code;

(B-1) a violation of Section 43.02 (Prostitution), Penal Code, if the offense is punishable under Subsection (c)(3) of that section;

(C) a violation of Section 20.04(a)(4) (Aggravated kidnapping), Penal Code, if the actor committed the offense or engaged in the conduct with intent to violate or abuse the victim sexually;

(D) a violation of Section 30.02 (Burglary), Penal Code, if the offense or conduct is punishable under Subsection (d) of that section and the actor committed the offense or engaged in the conduct with intent to commit a felony listed in Paragraph (A) or (C);

(E) a violation of Section 20.02 (Unlawful restraint), 20.03 (Kidnapping), or 20.04 (Aggravated kidnapping), Penal Code, if, as applicable:

(i) the judgment in the case contains an affirmative finding under Article 42.015; or

(ii) the order in the hearing or the papers in the case contain an affirmative finding that the victim or intended victim was younger than 17 years of age;

(F) the second violation of Section 21.08 (Indecent exposure), Penal Code, but not if the second violation results in a deferred adjudication;

(G) an attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation, as defined by Chapter 15, Penal Code, to commit an offense or engage in conduct listed in Paragraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or (K);

(H) a violation of the laws of another state, federal law, the laws of a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice for or based on the violation of an offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements of an offense listed under Paragraph (A), (B), (B-1), (C), (D), (E), (G), (J), or (K), but not if the violation results in a deferred adjudication;

(I) the second violation of the laws of another state, federal law, the laws of a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice for or based on the violation of an offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements of the offense of indecent exposure, but not if the second violation results in a deferred adjudication;

(J) a violation of Section 33.021 (Online solicitation of a minor), Penal Code; or

(K) a violation of Section 20A.02(a)(3), (4), (7), or (8) (Trafficking of persons), Penal Code.

SECTION 6. Section 821.021(1), Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

(1) "Cruelly treated" includes tortured, seriously overworked, unreasonably abandoned, unreasonably deprived of necessary food, care, or shelter, cruelly confined, [or] caused to fight with another animal, or subjected to conduct prohibited by Section 21.09, Penal Code.

SECTION 7. Section 821.023, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a-1) A finding in a court of competent jurisdiction that a person is guilty of an offense under Section 21.09, Penal Code, is prima facie evidence at a hearing authorized by Section 821.022 that any animal in the person's possession has been cruelly treated, regardless of whether the animal was subjected to conduct prohibited by Section 21.09, Penal Code.

SECTION 8. Section 821.023(b), Health and Safety Code, is repealed.

SECTION 9. 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 on the date 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 occurred before that date.

SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1232 passed the Senate on April 19, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 25, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1232 passed the House, with amendments, on May 21, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 0, one present not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

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Date

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Governor