By: Huffman, Menéndez	S.B. No. 1232

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the creation of the offense of bestiality.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 21.07(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
	as follows:
	(a)  A person commits an offense if the person [he] knowingly
	engages in any of the following acts in a public place or, if not in
	a public place, the person [he] is reckless about whether another is
	present who will be offended or alarmed by the person's [his]:
	(1)  act of sexual intercourse;
	(2)  act of deviate sexual intercourse; or
	(3)  act of sexual contact[; or
	[(4)     act involving contact between the person's mouth
	or genitals and the anus or genitals of an animal or fowl].
	SECTION 2.  Chapter 21, Penal Code, is amended by adding
	Section 21.09 to read as follows:
	Sec. 21.09.  BESTIALITY. (a)  A person commits an offense
	if the person knowingly:
	(1)  engages in an act involving contact between:
	(A)  the person's mouth, anus, or genitals and the
	anus or genitals of an animal; or
	(B)  the person's anus or genitals and the mouth
	of the animal;
	(2)  fondles or touches the anus or genitals of an
	animal, including touching through clothing;
	(3)  causes an animal to contact the seminal fluid of
	the person;
	(4)  inserts any part of a person's body or any object
	into the anus or genitals of an animal;
	(5)  possesses, sells, transfers, purchases, or
	otherwise obtains an animal with the intent that the animal be used
	for conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4);
	(6)  organizes, promotes, conducts, or participates as
	an observer of conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or
	(4);
	(7)  causes a person to engage or aids a person in
	engaging in conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4);
	(8)  permits conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2),
	(3), or (4) to occur on any premises under the person's control;
	(9)  engages in conduct described by Subdivision (1),
	(2), (3), or (4) in the presence of a child younger than 18 years of
	age; or
	(10)  advertises, offers, or accepts the offer of an
	animal with the intent that the animal be used in this state for
	conduct described by Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4).
	(b)  An offense under this section is a state jail felony,
	unless the offense is committed under Subsection (a)(9) or results
	in serious bodily injury or death of the animal, in which event the
	offense is a felony of the third degree.
	(c)  It is an exception to the application of this section
	that the conduct engaged in by the actor is a generally accepted and
	otherwise lawful animal husbandry or veterinary practice.
	SECTION 3.  Article 42A.511, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
	amended to read as follows:
	Art. 42A.511.  COMMUNITY SUPERVISION FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES
	INVOLVING ANIMALS.  (a)  If a judge grants community supervision to
	a defendant convicted of an offense under Section 42.09, 42.091,
	42.092, or 42.10, Penal Code, the judge may require the defendant to
	attend a responsible pet owner course sponsored by a municipal
	animal shelter, as defined by Section 823.001, Health and Safety
	Code, that:
	(1)  receives federal, state, county, or municipal
	funds; and
	(2)  serves the county in which the court is located.
	(b)  If a judge grants community supervision to a defendant
	convicted of an offense under Section 21.09, Penal Code, the judge
	may:
	(1)  require the defendant to relinquish custody of any
	animals in the defendant's possession;
	(2)  prohibit the defendant from possessing or
	exercising control over any animals or residing in a household
	where animals are present; or
	(3)  require the defendant to participate in
	psychological counseling or other appropriate treatment program
	for a period to be determined by the court.
	SECTION 4.  Section 821.021(1), Health and Safety Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(1)  "Cruelly treated" includes tortured, seriously
	overworked, unreasonably abandoned, unreasonably deprived of
	necessary food, care, or shelter, cruelly confined, [or] caused to
	fight with another animal, or subjected to conduct prohibited by
	Section 21.09, Penal Code.
	SECTION 5.  Section 821.023, Health and Safety Code, is
	amended by adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsection (b) to
	read as follows:
	(a-1)  A finding in a court of competent jurisdiction that a
	person is guilty of an offense under Section 21.09, Penal Code, is
	prima facie evidence at a hearing authorized by Section 821.022
	that any animal in the person's possession has been cruelly
	treated, regardless of whether the animal was subjected to conduct
	prohibited by Section 21.09, Penal Code.
	(b)  A statement of an owner made at a hearing provided for
	under this subchapter is not admissible in a trial of the owner for
	an offense under Section 21.09, 42.09, or 42.092, Penal Code.
	SECTION 6.  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 occurred
	before that date.
	SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.