|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
relating to the punishment for the offense of injury to a child, |
|
elderly individual, or disabled individual and creating the offense |
|
of continuous injury to a child. |
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
SECTION 1. Section 22.04, Penal Code, is amended by |
|
amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (f-1) to read as |
|
follows: |
|
(f) Except as provided by Subsection (f-1), an [An] offense |
|
under Subsection (a)(3) or (a-1)(3) is a felony of the third degree |
|
when the conduct is committed intentionally or knowingly, except |
|
that an offense under Subsection (a)(3) is a felony of the second |
|
degree when the conduct is committed intentionally or knowingly and |
|
the victim is a disabled individual residing in a center, as defined |
|
by Section 555.001, Health and Safety Code, or in a facility |
|
licensed under Chapter 252, Health and Safety Code, and the actor is |
|
an employee of the center or facility whose employment involved |
|
providing direct care for the victim. When the conduct is engaged |
|
in recklessly, the offense is a state jail felony. |
|
(f-1) An offense under Subsection (a)(3) or (a-1)(3) is a |
|
felony of the second degree if: |
|
(1) the conduct was committed intentionally or |
|
knowingly; |
|
(2) excessive force was used in the conduct that |
|
resulted in the injury; and |
|
(3) either: |
|
(A) the victim of the offense was younger than |
|
six years of age at the time the offense was committed; or |
|
(B) it is shown on the trial of the offense that |
|
the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense under |
|
this section or Section 22.042. |
|
SECTION 2. Chapter 22, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
|
Section 22.042 to read as follows: |
|
Sec. 22.042. CONTINUOUS INJURY TO A CHILD. (a) A person |
|
commits an offense under this section if, during a period that is at |
|
least 30 days but not more than five years, the person engages two |
|
or more times in conduct that constitutes an offense under Section |
|
22.04 and the victim is a child. |
|
(b) A defendant may not be charged with more than one count |
|
under Subsection (a) if the conduct that constitutes an offense |
|
under Section 22.04 is alleged to have been committed against the |
|
same victim. |
|
(c) If a jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury are |
|
not required to agree unanimously on which specific conduct engaged |
|
in by the defendant constitutes an offense under Section 22.04 or on |
|
which exact date the defendant engaged in that conduct. The jury |
|
must agree unanimously that the defendant, during a period that is |
|
at least 30 days but not more than five years, engaged two or more |
|
times in conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 22.04. |
|
(d) A defendant may not be convicted of an offense under |
|
Section 22.04 and an offense under Subsection (a) of this section |
|
against the same victim in the same criminal action unless the |
|
offense under Section 22.04: |
|
(1) is charged in the alternative; |
|
(2) occurred outside the period in which the offense |
|
alleged under Subsection (a) was committed; or |
|
(3) is considered by the trier of fact to be a lesser |
|
included offense of the offense alleged under Subsection (a). |
|
(e) An offense under this section is a felony of the second |
|
degree, except that the offense is a felony of the second degree |
|
punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal |
|
Justice for a term of not more than 20 years or less than 15 years |
|
if: |
|
(1) the conduct constituting at least one of the |
|
offenses under Section 22.04 caused serious bodily injury or |
|
serious mental deficiency, impairment, or injury to the victim; or |
|
(2) the actor used or exhibited a deadly weapon during |
|
the commission of at least one of the offenses under Section 22.04. |
|
SECTION 3. 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |