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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the prosecution of the offense of sexual assault. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 22.011(b), Penal Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(b) A sexual assault under Subsection (a)(1) is without the |
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consent of the other person if consent, as defined by Section |
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1.07(a), is not present or if: |
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(1) the actor compels the other person to submit or |
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participate by the use of physical force, violence, or coercion; |
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(2) the actor compels the other person to submit or |
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participate by threatening to use force or violence against the |
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other person or to cause harm to the other person, and the other |
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person believes that the actor has the present ability to execute |
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the threat; |
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(3) the other person has not consented and the actor |
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knows the other person is unconscious or physically unable to |
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resist; |
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(4) the actor knows that as a result of mental disease |
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or defect the other person is at the time of the sexual assault |
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incapable either of appraising the nature of the act or of resisting |
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it; |
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(5) the other person has not consented and the actor |
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knows the other person is unaware that the sexual assault is |
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occurring; |
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(6) the actor has intentionally impaired the other |
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person's power to appraise or control the other person's conduct by |
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administering any substance without the other person's knowledge; |
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(7) the actor compels the other person to submit or |
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participate by threatening to use force or violence against any |
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person, and the other person believes that the actor has the ability |
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to execute the threat; |
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(8) the actor is a public servant who coerces the other |
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person to submit or participate; |
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(9) the actor is a mental health services provider or a |
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health care services provider who causes the other person, who is a |
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patient or former patient of the actor, to submit or participate by |
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exploiting the other person's emotional dependency on the actor; |
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(10) the actor is a clergyman who causes the other |
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person to submit or participate by exploiting the other person's |
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emotional dependency on the clergyman in the clergyman's |
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professional character as spiritual adviser; |
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(11) the actor is an employee of a facility where the |
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other person is a resident, unless the employee and resident are |
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formally or informally married to each other under Chapter 2, |
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Family Code; |
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(12) the actor is a health care services provider who, |
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in the course of performing an assisted reproduction procedure on |
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the other person, uses human reproductive material from a donor |
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knowing that the other person has not expressly consented to the use |
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of material from that donor; |
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(13) the actor is a coach or tutor who causes the other |
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person to submit or participate by using the actor's power or |
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influence to exploit the other person's dependency on the actor; or |
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(14) the actor is a caregiver hired to assist the other |
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person with activities of daily life and causes the other person to |
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submit or participate by exploiting the other person's dependency |
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on the actor. |
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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, 2025. |