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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the prosecution and reporting of certain offenses |
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committed because of bias or prejudice; creating a criminal |
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offense. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Article 2.211, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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Art. 2.211. HATE CRIME REPORTING. (a) In addition to |
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performing duties required by Article 2.21, a clerk of a district or |
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county court in which an affirmative finding under Article 42.014 |
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is requested shall report that request to the Texas Judicial |
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Council, along with a statement as to whether the request was |
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granted by the court and, if so, whether the affirmative finding was |
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entered in the judgment in the case. |
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(b) If an affirmative finding was entered in the judgment in |
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the case as described by Subsection (a), the clerk shall provide |
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notice of the finding to the appropriate local law enforcement |
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agency to enable entry of the information into the National Crime |
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Information Center and Texas Crime Information Center. The agency |
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receiving the notice promptly shall enter the information into the |
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databases. |
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(c) The clerk shall make a [the] report or provide a notice |
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required by this article not later than the 30th day after the date |
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the judgment is entered in the case. |
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SECTION 2. Section 46.04, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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Subsections (a-1) and (h) and amending Subsection (e) to read as |
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follows: |
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(a-1) A person who has been convicted of an offense under |
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Section 22.01, 22.011, 22.02, 22.021, 22.04, 22.05, 22.07, 25.11, |
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28.02, 28.03, or 28.08 for which the judgment contains an |
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affirmative finding under Article 42.014, Code of Criminal |
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Procedure, commits an offense if the person possesses a firearm |
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before the fifth anniversary of the later of: |
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(1) the date of the person's release from confinement |
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following the conviction; or |
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(2) the date of the person's release from supervision |
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under community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision, as |
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applicable. |
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(e) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, |
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except that an offense under Subsection (a) or (a-1) is a felony of |
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the third degree. [An offense under Subsection (b) or (c) is a Class |
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A misdemeanor.] |
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(h) If conduct that constitutes an offense under Subsection |
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(a-1) also constitutes an offense under Subsection (a), the actor |
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may be prosecuted under Subsection (a) or (a-1), but not both. If |
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conduct that constitutes an offense under Subsection (a-1) also |
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constitutes an offense under Subsection (b), the actor may be |
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prosecuted under Subsection (a-1) or (b), but not both. |
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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, 2021. |