| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the punishment for the offense of prostitution. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Sections 43.02(c) and (c-1), Penal Code, are |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(c) An offense under Subsection (a) is a Class B |
|
|
misdemeanor, except that the offense is: |
|
|
(1) a Class A misdemeanor if the actor has previously |
|
|
been convicted one or two times of an offense under Subsection (a); |
|
|
or |
|
|
(2) a state jail felony if the actor: |
|
|
(A) has previously been convicted three or more |
|
|
times of an offense under Subsection (a); |
|
|
(B) is a peace officer; |
|
|
(C) is a public security officer or reserve law |
|
|
enforcement officer, as those terms are defined by Section |
|
|
1701.001, Occupations Code; or |
|
|
(D) is an employee of a public primary or |
|
|
secondary school in this state. |
|
|
(c-1) An offense under Subsection (b) is a Class A |
|
|
misdemeanor, except that the offense is: |
|
|
(1) a state jail felony if the actor: |
|
|
(A) has previously been convicted of an offense |
|
|
under Subsection (b); |
|
|
(B) is a peace officer; |
|
|
(C) is a public security officer or reserve law |
|
|
enforcement officer, as those terms are defined by Section |
|
|
1701.001, Occupations Code; or |
|
|
(D) is an employee of a public primary or |
|
|
secondary school in this state; or |
|
|
(2) a felony of the second degree if the person with |
|
|
whom the actor agrees to engage in sexual conduct is: |
|
|
(A) younger than 18 years of age, regardless of |
|
|
whether the actor knows the age of the person at the time of the |
|
|
offense; |
|
|
(B) represented to the actor as being younger |
|
|
than 18 years of age; or |
|
|
(C) believed by the actor to be younger than 18 |
|
|
years of age. |
|
|
SECTION 2. 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 was |
|
|
committed before that date. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |