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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to increasing the criminal penalty for certain offenses |
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committed in retaliation for or on account of a person's service or |
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status as a public servant. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Penal Code, is amended |
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by adding Section 12.501 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 12.501. PENALTY FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES COMMITTED IN |
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RETALIATION FOR OR ON ACCOUNT OF PERSON'S SERVICE OR STATUS AS |
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PUBLIC SERVANT. (a) In this section, "public servant" has the |
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meaning assigned by Section 36.06. |
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(b) Subject to Subsection (d), the punishment for an offense |
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described by Subsection (c) is increased to the punishment |
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prescribed for the next higher category of offense if it is shown on |
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the trial of the offense that: |
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(1) the offense: |
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(A) was committed against a person the actor |
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knows is a public servant or a member of a public servant's family |
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or household; or |
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(B) involves property that the actor knows |
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belongs to, is under the control of, or is lawfully possessed by a |
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public servant; and |
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(2) the offense was committed in retaliation for or on |
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account of the service or status of the person as a public servant. |
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(c) The increase in punishment authorized by this section |
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applies only to: |
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(1) an offense under Section 21.16, 21.18, 21.19, |
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22.011, 28.02, 28.03, 30.05, 33.02, 42.07, or 42.072; or |
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(2) an offense under Section 32.51, other than an |
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offense punishable under Subsection (c-1) of that section. |
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(d) If an offense described by Subsection (c) is punishable |
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as a Class A misdemeanor, the minimum term of confinement for the |
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offense is increased to 180 days. If an offense described by |
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Subsection (c) is punishable as a felony of the first degree, the |
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punishment for that offense may not be increased under this |
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section. |
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(e) For purposes of this section, "member of a public |
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servant's family" means a person related to the public servant |
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within the second degree of consanguinity. |
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SECTION 2. 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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* * * * * |