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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to certain defenses to prosecution involving the |
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justifiable use of force or threat of force. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 9.04, Penal Code, is amended to read as |
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follows: |
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Sec. 9.04. THREATS AS JUSTIFIABLE FORCE. The threat of |
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force is justified when the use of force is justified by this |
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chapter. For purposes of this section, a threat to cause death or |
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serious bodily injury by the exhibition [production] of a weapon or |
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otherwise, as long as the actor's purpose is limited to creating an |
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apprehension that the actor [he] will use deadly force if |
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necessary, does not constitute the use of deadly force. |
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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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(i) aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual |
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assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated |
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robbery; or |
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(ii) arson, if the property intended to be |
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damaged or destroyed was an occupied building, an occupied |
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habitation, or an occupied vehicle; |
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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 |
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of: |
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(i) aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual |
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assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated |
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robbery; or |
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(ii) arson, if the property intended to be |
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damaged or destroyed was an occupied building, an occupied |
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habitation, or an occupied vehicle. |
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SECTION 4. 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 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |