86R4846 MAW-D

By: Anchia H.B. No. 930

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to use of force or deadly force in defense of a person.

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

SECTION 1. Section 9.31(a), Penal Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided in Subsection (b), a person is justified in using force against another when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to protect the actor against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful force. [The actor's belief that the force was immediately necessary as described by this subsection is presumed to be reasonable if the actor:

[(1) knew or had reason to believe that the person against whom the force was used:

[(A) unlawfully and with force entered, or was attempting to enter unlawfully and with force, the actor's occupied habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment;

[(B) unlawfully and with force removed, or was attempting to remove unlawfully and with force, the actor from the actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment; or

[(C) was committing or attempting to commit aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery;

[(2) did not provoke the person against whom the force was used; and

[(3) was not otherwise engaged in criminal activity, other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or ordinance regulating traffic at the time the force was used.]

SECTION 2. Sections 9.32(a) and (b), Penal Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) A person is justified in using deadly force against another:

(1) if the actor would be justified in using force against the other under Section 9.31; [and]

(2) if a reasonable person in the actor's situation would not have retreated; and

(3) when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary:

(A) to protect the actor against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force; or

(B) to prevent the other's imminent commission of aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery.

(b) The requirement imposed by [actor's belief under] Subsection (a)(2) does not apply to an actor who uses deadly force against a person who at the time of the use of deadly force is committing an offense involving the unlawful entry into the habitation of the actor [that the deadly force was immediately necessary as described by that subdivision is presumed to be reasonable if the actor:

[(1) knew or had reason to believe that the person against whom the deadly force was used:

[(A) unlawfully and with force entered, or was attempting to enter unlawfully and with force, the actor's occupied habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment;

[(B) unlawfully and with force removed, or was attempting to remove unlawfully and with force, the actor from the actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment; or

[(C) was committing or attempting to commit an offense described by Subsection (a)(2)(B);

[(2) did not provoke the person against whom the force was used; and

[(3) was not otherwise engaged in criminal activity, other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or ordinance regulating traffic at the time the force was used].

SECTION 3. Section 83.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 83.001. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE [CIVIL IMMUNITY]. It is an affirmative defense to a civil action for damages for personal injury or death that the [A] defendant, at the time the cause of action arose, was justified in using [who uses force or] deadly force under Section 9.32, Penal Code, against a person who at the time of the [that is justified under Chapter 9, Penal Code, is immune from civil liability for personal injury or death that results from the defendant's] use of [force or] deadly force was committing an offense involving the unlawful entry into the habitation of the defendant [, as applicable].

SECTION 4. Sections 9.01(5), 9.31(e) and (f), and 9.32(c) and (d), Penal Code, are repealed.

SECTION 5. 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 6. Section 83.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. A cause of action that accrues before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law applicable to the cause of action immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.