Bill Text: TX HB1163 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the prosecution of and punishment for the offense of tampering with a witness.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-02-20 - Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence [HB1163 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-HB1163-Introduced.html

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83R5753 ADM-F
By: Moody H.B. No. 1163

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of and punishment for the offense of
tampering with a witness.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.05, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (a-1), (c-1), and (e-1) and amending Subsections (d)
and (e) to read as follows:
(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person
intentionally or knowingly:
(1) solicits or directs a witness or prospective
witness in an official proceeding:
(A) to testify falsely;
(B) to withhold any testimony, information,
document, or thing;
(C) to elude legal process summoning the witness
or prospective witness to testify or supply evidence; or
(D) to avoid attending an official proceeding to
which the witness or prospective witness has been legally summoned;
or
(2) assists or attempts to assist a witness or
prospective witness in performing an activity listed in Subdivision
(1).
(c-1) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection
(a-1)(1)(B) or (a-1)(2) with respect to a withholding of testimony,
information, a document, or a thing that the withholding occurred
or would have occurred through the exercise of a legal right or
privilege the actor reasonably believed the witness or prospective
witness was entitled to assert in the official proceeding.
(d) Subject to Subsections (e) and (e-1), an [An] offense
under this section is a felony of the third degree.
(e) Subject to Subsection (e-1), if[, except that if] the
official proceeding is part of the prosecution of a criminal case,
an offense under this section is the same category of offense as the
most serious offense charged in that criminal case, except that if
the most serious offense charged is a capital felony, the offense is
a felony of the first degree.
(e-1) An offense under Subsection (a) or (a-1) is a felony
of the second degree if the actor is a public servant acting or
purporting to act in an official capacity or an attorney
representing a party to the official proceeding, except that the
offense is a felony of the first degree if the official proceeding
is part of the prosecution of a criminal case in which the most
serious offense charged is punishable as a felony of the first
degree or a capital felony [(e) Notwithstanding Subsection (d), if
the most serious offense charged is a capital felony, an offense
under this section is a felony of the first degree].
SECTION 2. 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.