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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the legal justification for using force or deadly force |
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in response to the commission or attempted commission of a violent |
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felony. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 9.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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Subdivision (6) to read as follows: |
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(6) "Violent felony" means a felony offense under |
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state law, federal law, or the laws of a federally recognized Indian |
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tribe that has as an element the intentional or knowing use, |
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attempted use, or threatened use of force or deadly force against |
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any person. |
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SECTION 2. Section 9.31(a), Penal Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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(a) Except as provided in Subsection (b), a person is |
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justified in using force against another when and to the degree the |
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actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to |
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protect the actor against the other's use or attempted use of |
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unlawful force. The actor's belief that the force was immediately |
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necessary as described by this subsection is presumed to be |
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reasonable if the actor: |
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(1) knew or had reason to believe that the person |
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against whom the force was used: |
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(A) unlawfully and with force entered, or was |
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attempting to enter unlawfully and with force, the actor's occupied |
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habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment; |
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(B) unlawfully and with force removed, or was |
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attempting to remove unlawfully and with force, the actor from the |
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actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment; or |
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(C) was committing or attempting to commit |
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aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual |
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assault, robbery, [or] aggravated robbery, or another violent |
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felony; |
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(2) did not provoke the person against whom the force |
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was used; and |
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(3) was not otherwise engaged in criminal activity, |
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other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or |
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ordinance regulating traffic at the time the force was used. |
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SECTION 3. Section 9.32(a), Penal Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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(a) A person is justified in using deadly force against |
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another: |
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(1) if the actor would be justified in using force |
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against the other under Section 9.31; and |
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(2) when and to the degree the actor reasonably |
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believes the deadly force is immediately necessary: |
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(A) to protect the actor against the other's use |
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or attempted use of unlawful deadly force; or |
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(B) to prevent the other's imminent commission of |
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aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual |
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assault, robbery, [or] aggravated robbery, or another violent |
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felony. |
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SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed |
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by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the |
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former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of |
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this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of |
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this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |