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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the punishment for the offense of injury to a child, |
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elderly individual, or disabled individual and creating the offense |
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of continuous injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled |
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individual. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 22.04, Penal Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (f-1) to read as |
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follows: |
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(f) Except as provided by Subsection (f-1), an [An] offense |
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under Subsection (a)(3) or (a-1)(3) is a felony of the third degree |
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when the conduct is committed intentionally or knowingly, except |
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that an offense under Subsection (a)(3) is a felony of the second |
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degree when the conduct is committed intentionally or knowingly and |
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the victim is a disabled individual residing in a center, as defined |
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by Section 555.001, Health and Safety Code, or in a facility |
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licensed under Chapter 252, Health and Safety Code, and the actor is |
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an employee of the center or facility whose employment involved |
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providing direct care for the victim. When the conduct is engaged |
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in recklessly, the offense is a state jail felony. |
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(f-1) An offense under Subsection (a)(3) or (a-1)(3) is a |
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felony of the first degree if: |
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(1) the conduct was committed intentionally or |
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knowingly; and |
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(2) either: |
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(A) the victim of the offense was younger than |
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six years of age at the time the offense is committed; or |
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(B) it is shown on the trial of the offense that |
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the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense under |
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this section or Section 22.042. |
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SECTION 2. Chapter 22, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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Section 22.042 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 22.042. CONTINUOUS INJURY TO A CHILD, ELDERLY |
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INDIVIDUAL, OR DISABLED INDIVIDUAL. (a) A person commits an |
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offense if, during a period that is 30 or more days but less than |
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five years in duration, the person engages two or more times in |
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conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 22.04 against one |
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or more victims. |
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(b) If a jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury are |
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not required to agree unanimously on which specific conduct engaged |
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in by the defendant constituted an offense under Section 22.04 or on |
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which exact date the defendant engaged in that conduct. The jury |
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must agree unanimously that the defendant, during a period that is |
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30 or more days but less than five years in duration, engaged in |
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conduct that constituted an offense under Section 22.04. |
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(c) If the victim of an offense under Subsection (a) is the |
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same victim as a victim of an offense under Section 22.04, a |
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defendant may not be convicted of the offense under Section 22.04 in |
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the same criminal action as the offense under Subsection (a), |
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unless the offense under Section 22.04: |
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(1) is charged in the alternative; |
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(2) occurred outside the period in which the offense |
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alleged under Subsection (a) was committed; or |
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(3) is considered by the trier of fact to be a lesser |
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included offense of the offense alleged under Subsection (a). |
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(d) A defendant may not be charged with more than one count |
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under Subsection (a) if all of the conduct that constitutes an |
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offense under Section 22.04 is alleged to have been committed |
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against the same victim. |
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(e) An offense under this section is a felony of the first |
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degree, except that the offense is a felony of the first degree |
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punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal |
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Justice for life or for any term of not more than 99 years or less |
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than 15 years if: |
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(1) the conduct constituting at least one of the |
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offenses under Section 22.04 caused serious bodily injury or |
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serious mental deficiency, impairment, or injury to the victim; or |
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(2) the actor used or exhibited a deadly weapon during |
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the commission of at least one of the offenses under Section 22.04. |
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SECTION 3. 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |