80R664 RMB-F
	By: Wentworth	S.B. No. 378

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the use of force or deadly force in defense of a person.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 9.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding
	Subdivisions (4) and (5) to read as follows:
	(4)  "Habitation" has the meaning assigned by Section
	30.01.
	(5)  "Vehicle" has the meaning assigned by Section
	30.01.
	SECTION 2.  Section 9.31, Penal Code, is amended by amending
	Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read as
	follows:
	(a)  Except as provided in Subsection (b), a person is
	justified in using force against another when and to the degree the
	actor [he] reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary
	to protect the actor [himself] against the other's use or attempted
	use of unlawful force.  The actor's belief that the force was
	immediately necessary as described by this subsection is presumed
	to be reasonable if the actor knew or had reason to believe that the
	person against whom the force was used:
	(1)  unlawfully entered, or was attempting to enter
	unlawfully, the actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business
	or employment;
	(2)  unlawfully removed, or was attempting to remove
	unlawfully, the actor from the actor's habitation, vehicle, or
	place of business or employment; or
	(3)  was committing or attempting to commit aggravated
	kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault,
	robbery, or aggravated robbery.
	(e)  A person who has a right to be present at the location
	where the force is used, who has not provoked the person against
	whom the force is used, and who is not engaged in criminal activity
	at the time the force is used is not required to retreat before
	using force as described by this section.
	(f)  For purposes of Subsection (a), in determining whether
	an actor described by Subsection (e) reasonably believed that the
	use of force was necessary, a finder of fact may not consider
	whether the actor failed to retreat.
	SECTION 3.  Section 9.32, Penal Code, is amended to read as
	follows:
	Sec. 9.32.  DEADLY FORCE IN DEFENSE OF PERSON.  (a)  A person
	is justified in using deadly force against another:
	(1)  if the actor [he] would be justified in using force
	against the other under Section 9.31; and
	(2)  [if a reasonable person in the actor's situation
	would not have retreated; and
	[(3)]  when and to the degree the actor [he] reasonably
	believes the deadly force is immediately necessary:
	(A)  to protect the actor [himself] against the
	other's use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force; or
	(B)  to prevent the other's imminent commission of
	aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual
	assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery.
	(b)  The actor's belief under Subsection (a)(2) that the
	deadly force was immediately necessary as described by that
	subdivision is presumed to be reasonable if the actor knew or had
	reason to believe that the person against whom the deadly force was
	used:
	(1)  unlawfully entered, or was attempting to enter
	unlawfully, the actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business
	or employment;
	(2)  unlawfully removed, or was attempting to remove
	unlawfully, the actor from the actor's habitation, vehicle, or
	place of business or employment of the actor; or
	(3)  was committing or attempting to commit an offense
	described by Subsection (a)(2)(B) [The requirement imposed by
	Subsection (a)(2) does not apply to an actor who uses force against
	a person who is at the time of the use of force committing an offense
	of unlawful entry in the habitation of the actor].
	(c)  A person who has a right to be present at the location
	where the deadly force is used, who has not provoked the person
	against whom the deadly force is used, and who is not engaged in
	criminal activity at the time the deadly force is used is not
	required to retreat before using deadly force as described by this
	section.
	(d)  For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), in determining
	whether an actor described by Subsection (c) reasonably believed
	that the use of deadly force was necessary, a finder of fact may not
	consider whether the actor failed to retreat.
	SECTION 4.  Section 83.001, Civil Practice and Remedies
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 83.001.  AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.  It is an affirmative
	defense to a civil action for damages for personal injury or death
	that the defendant, at the time the cause of action arose, was
	justified in using force or deadly force under Subchapter C,
	Chapter 9 [Section 9.32], Penal Code[, against a person who at the
	time of the use of force was committing an offense of unlawful entry
	in the habitation of the defendant].
	SECTION 5.  Chapter 83, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
	amended by adding Section 83.002 to read as follows:
	Sec. 83.002.  COURT COSTS, ATTORNEY'S FEES, AND OTHER
	EXPENSES.  A defendant who prevails in asserting the affirmative
	defense described by Section 83.001 may recover from the plaintiff
	all court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, earned income that was
	lost as a result of the suit, and other reasonable expenses.
	SECTION 6.  (a)  Sections 9.31 and 9.32, Penal Code, as
	amended by this Act, apply 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 covered by the law in effect when the
	offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for
	this purpose.  For the purposes of this subsection, an offense is
	committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
	the offense occurs before the effective date.
	(b)  Section 83.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as
	amended by this Act, and Section 83.002, Civil Practice and
	Remedies Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a cause of action
	that accrues on or after the effective date of this Act.  An action
	that accrued before the effective date of this Act is governed by
	the law in effect at the time the action accrued, and that law is
	continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.