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AN ACT
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relating to increasing the punishment for certain conduct |
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constituting the offense of murder and providing for the |
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prosecution of that conduct as capital murder. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as Lauren's Law. |
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SECTION 2. Section 19.03(a), Penal Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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(a) A person commits an offense if the person commits murder |
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as defined under Section 19.02(b)(1) and: |
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(1) the person murders a peace officer or fireman who |
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is acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty and who the |
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person knows is a peace officer or fireman; |
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(2) the person intentionally commits the murder in the |
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course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary, |
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robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, obstruction or |
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retaliation, or terroristic threat under Section 22.07(a)(1), (3), |
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(4), (5), or (6); |
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(3) the person commits the murder for remuneration or |
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the promise of remuneration or employs another to commit the murder |
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for remuneration or the promise of remuneration; |
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(4) the person commits the murder while escaping or |
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attempting to escape from a penal institution; |
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(5) the person, while incarcerated in a penal |
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institution, murders another: |
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(A) who is employed in the operation of the penal |
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institution; or |
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(B) with the intent to establish, maintain, or |
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participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination; |
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(6) the person: |
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(A) while incarcerated for an offense under this |
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section or Section 19.02, murders another; or |
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(B) while serving a sentence of life imprisonment |
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or a term of 99 years for an offense under Section 20.04, 22.021, or |
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29.03, murders another; |
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(7) the person murders more than one person: |
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(A) during the same criminal transaction; or |
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(B) during different criminal transactions but |
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the murders are committed pursuant to the same scheme or course of |
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conduct; |
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(8) the person murders an individual under 10 years of |
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age; [or] |
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(9) the person murders an individual 10 years of age or |
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older but younger than 15 years of age; or |
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(10) the person murders another person in retaliation |
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for or on account of the service or status of the other person as a |
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judge or justice of the supreme court, the court of criminal |
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appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, a criminal district |
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court, a constitutional county court, a statutory county court, a |
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justice court, or a municipal court. |
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SECTION 3. Section 1, Article 37.071, Code of Criminal |
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Procedure, is amended to read as follows: |
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Sec. 1. (a) If a defendant is found guilty in a capital |
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felony case in which the state does not seek the death penalty, the |
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judge shall sentence the defendant to life imprisonment or to life |
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imprisonment without parole as required by Section 12.31, Penal |
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Code. |
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(b) A defendant who is found guilty of an offense under |
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Section 19.03(a)(9), Penal Code, may not be sentenced to death, and |
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the state may not seek the death penalty in any case based solely on |
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an offense under that subdivision. |
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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, 2019. |
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______________________________ |
______________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
Speaker of the House |
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I hereby certify that S.B. No. 719 passed the Senate on |
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April 16, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that |
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the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 23, 2019, by the |
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following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. |
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______________________________ |
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Secretary of the Senate |
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I hereby certify that S.B. No. 719 passed the House, with |
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amendment, on May 21, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 132, |
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Nays 8, two present not voting. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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Approved: |
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______________________________ |
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Date |
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______________________________ |
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Governor |