BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 902

By: Landgraf

Criminal Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that the current penalty for assaulting a pregnant woman is too lenient and that increasing the penalty may thwart future assaults. C.S.H.B. 902 seeks to address this issue by increasing the penalty for knowingly assaulting a pregnant woman.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill expressly does one or more of the following: creates a criminal offense, increases the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or changes the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 902 amends the Penal Code to enhance the penalty for an assault offense in which the actor intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to another from a Class A misdemeanor to a third degree felony if the offense is committed against a person the actor knows is pregnant at the time of the offense.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 902 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute does not include the penalty enhancement for an assault offense in which the actor intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to a person the actor should have known was pregnant at the time of the offense.