Bill Text: TX HB1581 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the criminal offense of abandoning or endangering a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-08 - Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence [HB1581 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB1581-Introduced.html

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87R1455 TSS-F
By: Davis H.B. No. 1581

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the criminal offense of abandoning or endangering a
child, elderly individual, or disabled individual.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 22.041, Penal Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 22.041. ABANDONING OR ENDANGERING A CHILD, ELDERLY
INDIVIDUAL, OR DISABLED INDIVIDUAL. (a) In this section:
(1) "Abandon"[, "abandon"] means to leave [a child] in
any place without providing reasonable and necessary care a [for
the] child, elderly individual, or disabled individual under
circumstances under which no reasonable, similarly situated person
[adult] would leave a child or individual of that age and ability.
(2) "Child," "elderly individual," and "disabled
individual" have the meanings assigned by Section 22.04.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person, having
custody, care, or control of a child, elderly individual, or
disabled individual [younger than 15 years], [he] intentionally
abandons the child or individual in any place under circumstances
that expose the child or individual to an unreasonable risk of harm.
(c) A person commits an offense if the person [he]
intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence,
by act or omission, engages in conduct that places a child, elderly
individual, or disabled individual [younger than 15 years] in
imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental
impairment.
(c-1) For purposes of Subsection (c), it is presumed that a
person engaged in conduct that places a child, elderly individual,
or disabled individual in imminent danger of death, bodily injury,
or physical or mental impairment if:
(1) the person manufactured, possessed, or in any way
introduced into the body of any person the controlled substance
methamphetamine in the presence of the child, elderly individual,
or disabled individual;
(2) the person's conduct related to the proximity or
accessibility of the controlled substance methamphetamine to the
child, elderly individual, or disabled individual and an analysis
of a specimen of the child's or individual's blood, urine, or other
bodily substance indicates the presence of methamphetamine in the
body of the child or individual [child's body]; or
(3) the person injected, ingested, inhaled, or
otherwise introduced a controlled substance listed in Penalty Group
1, Section 481.102, Health and Safety Code, into the human body when
the person was not in lawful possession of the substance as defined
by Section 481.002(24) of that code.
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), an offense under
Subsection (b) is:
(1) a state jail felony if the actor abandoned the
child, elderly individual, or disabled individual with intent to
return for the child or individual; or
(2) a felony of the third degree if the actor abandoned
the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual without
intent to return for the child or individual.
(e) An offense under Subsection (b) is a felony of the
second degree if the actor abandons the child, elderly individual,
or disabled individual under circumstances that a reasonable person
would believe would place the child or individual in imminent
danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment.
(f) An offense under Subsection (c) is a state jail felony.
(g) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (c) that
the act or omission enables the child, elderly individual, or
disabled individual to practice for or participate in an organized
athletic event and that appropriate safety equipment and procedures
are employed in the event.
(h) It is an exception to the application of this section
for abandoning or endangering a child that the actor voluntarily
delivered the child to a designated emergency infant care provider
under Section 262.302, Family Code.
SECTION 2. Article 12.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 12.01. FELONIES. Except as provided in Article 12.03,
felony indictments may be presented within these limits, and not
afterward:
(1) no limitation:
(A) murder and manslaughter;
(B) sexual assault under Section 22.011(a)(2),
Penal Code, or aggravated sexual assault under Section
22.021(a)(1)(B), Penal Code;
(C) sexual assault, if:
(i) during the investigation of the offense
biological matter is collected and the matter:
(a) has not yet been subjected to
forensic DNA testing; or
(b) has been subjected to forensic DNA
testing and the testing results show that the matter does not match
the victim or any other person whose identity is readily
ascertained; or
(ii) probable cause exists to believe that
the defendant has committed the same or a similar sex offense
against five or more victims;
(D) continuous sexual abuse of young child or
children under Section 21.02, Penal Code;
(E) indecency with a child under Section 21.11,
Penal Code;
(F) an offense involving leaving the scene of an
accident under Section 550.021, Transportation Code, if the
accident resulted in the death of a person;
(G) trafficking of persons under Section
20A.02(a)(7) or (8), Penal Code;
(H) continuous trafficking of persons under
Section 20A.03, Penal Code; or
(I) compelling prostitution under Section
43.05(a)(2), Penal Code;
(2) ten years from the date of the commission of the
offense:
(A) theft of any estate, real, personal or mixed,
by an executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, with intent to
defraud any creditor, heir, legatee, ward, distributee,
beneficiary or settlor of a trust interested in such estate;
(B) theft by a public servant of government
property over which the public servant exercises control in the
public servant's official capacity;
(C) forgery or the uttering, using or passing of
forged instruments;
(D) injury to an elderly or disabled individual
punishable as a felony of the first degree under Section 22.04,
Penal Code;
(E) sexual assault, except as provided by
Subdivision (1) or (7);
(F) arson;
(G) trafficking of persons under Section
20A.02(a)(1), (2), (3), or (4), Penal Code; or
(H) compelling prostitution under Section
43.05(a)(1), Penal Code;
(3) seven years from the date of the commission of the
offense:
(A) misapplication of fiduciary property or
property of a financial institution;
(B) securing execution of document by deception;
(C) a felony violation under Chapter 162, Tax
Code;
(D) false statement to obtain property or credit
under Section 32.32, Penal Code;
(E) money laundering;
(F) credit card or debit card abuse under Section
32.31, Penal Code;
(G) fraudulent use or possession of identifying
information under Section 32.51, Penal Code;
(H) exploitation of a child, elderly individual,
or disabled individual under Section 32.53, Penal Code;
(I) health care fraud under Section 35A.02, Penal
Code; or
(J) bigamy under Section 25.01, Penal Code,
except as provided by Subdivision (6);
(4) five years from the date of the commission of the
offense:
(A) theft or robbery;
(B) except as provided by Subdivision (5),
kidnapping or burglary;
(C) injury to an elderly or disabled individual
that is not punishable as a felony of the first degree under Section
22.04, Penal Code;
(D) abandoning or endangering a child, elderly
individual, or disabled individual; or
(E) insurance fraud;
(5) if the investigation of the offense shows that the
victim is younger than 17 years of age at the time the offense is
committed, 20 years from the 18th birthday of the victim of one of
the following offenses:
(A) sexual performance by a child under Section
43.25, Penal Code;
(B) aggravated kidnapping under Section
20.04(a)(4), Penal Code, if the defendant committed the offense
with the intent to violate or abuse the victim sexually; or
(C) burglary under Section 30.02, Penal Code, if
the offense is punishable under Subsection (d) of that section and
the defendant committed the offense with the intent to commit an
offense described by Subdivision (1)(B) or (D) of this article or
Paragraph (B) of this subdivision;
(6) ten years from the 18th birthday of the victim of
the offense:
(A) trafficking of persons under Section
20A.02(a)(5) or (6), Penal Code;
(B) injury to a child under Section 22.04, Penal
Code; or
(C) bigamy under Section 25.01, Penal Code, if
the investigation of the offense shows that the person, other than
the legal spouse of the defendant, whom the defendant marries or
purports to marry or with whom the defendant lives under the
appearance of being married is younger than 18 years of age at the
time the offense is committed;
(7) two years from the date the offense was
discovered: sexual assault punishable as a state jail felony under
Section 22.011(f)(2), Penal Code; or
(8) three years from the date of the commission of the
offense: all other felonies.
SECTION 3. Section 201.062(a), Estates Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A probate court may enter an order declaring that the
parent of a child under 18 years of age may not inherit from or
through the child under the laws of descent and distribution if the
court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the parent has:
(1) voluntarily abandoned and failed to support the
child in accordance with the parent's obligation or ability for at
least three years before the date of the child's death, and did not
resume support for the child before that date;
(2) voluntarily and with knowledge of the pregnancy:
(A) abandoned the child's mother beginning at a
time during her pregnancy with the child and continuing through the
birth;
(B) failed to provide adequate support or medical
care for the mother during the period of abandonment before the
child's birth; and
(C) remained apart from and failed to support the
child since birth; or
(3) been convicted or has been placed on community
supervision, including deferred adjudication community
supervision, for being criminally responsible for the death or
serious injury of a child under the following sections of the Penal
Code or adjudicated under Title 3, Family Code, for conduct that
caused the death or serious injury of a child and that would
constitute a violation of one of the following sections of the Penal
Code:
(A) Section 19.02 (murder);
(B) Section 19.03 (capital murder);
(C) Section 19.04 (manslaughter);
(D) Section 21.11 (indecency with a child);
(E) Section 22.01 (assault);
(F) Section 22.011 (sexual assault);
(G) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault);
(H) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault);
(I) Section 22.04 (injury to a child, elderly
individual, or disabled individual);
(J) Section 22.041 (abandoning or endangering a
child, elderly individual, or disabled individual);
(K) Section 25.02 (prohibited sexual conduct);
(L) Section 43.25 (sexual performance by a
child); or
(M) Section 43.26 (possession or promotion of
child pornography).
SECTION 4. Section 1104.353(b), Estates Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) It is presumed to be not in the best interests of a ward
or incapacitated person to appoint as guardian of the ward or
incapacitated person a person who has been finally convicted of:
(1) any sexual offense, including sexual assault,
aggravated sexual assault, and prohibited sexual conduct;
(2) aggravated assault;
(3) injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled
individual;
(4) abandoning or endangering a child, elderly
individual, or disabled individual;
(5) terroristic threat; or
(6) continuous violence against the family of the ward
or incapacitated person.
SECTION 5. Section 161.001(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The court may order termination of the parent-child
relationship if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence:
(1) that the parent has:
(A) voluntarily left the child alone or in the
possession of another not the parent and expressed an intent not to
return;
(B) voluntarily left the child alone or in the
possession of another not the parent without expressing an intent
to return, without providing for the adequate support of the child,
and remained away for a period of at least three months;
(C) voluntarily left the child alone or in the
possession of another without providing adequate support of the
child and remained away for a period of at least six months;
(D) knowingly placed or knowingly allowed the
child to remain in conditions or surroundings which endanger the
physical or emotional well-being of the child;
(E) engaged in conduct or knowingly placed the
child with persons who engaged in conduct which endangers the
physical or emotional well-being of the child;
(F) failed to support the child in accordance
with the parent's ability during a period of one year ending within
six months of the date of the filing of the petition;
(G) abandoned the child without identifying the
child or furnishing means of identification, and the child's
identity cannot be ascertained by the exercise of reasonable
diligence;
(H) voluntarily, and with knowledge of the
pregnancy, abandoned the mother of the child beginning at a time
during her pregnancy with the child and continuing through the
birth, failed to provide adequate support or medical care for the
mother during the period of abandonment before the birth of the
child, and remained apart from the child or failed to support the
child since the birth;
(I) contumaciously refused to submit to a
reasonable and lawful order of a court under Subchapter D, Chapter
261;
(J) been the major cause of:
(i) the failure of the child to be enrolled
in school as required by the Education Code; or
(ii) the child's absence from the child's
home without the consent of the parents or guardian for a
substantial length of time or without the intent to return;
(K) executed before or after the suit is filed an
unrevoked or irrevocable affidavit of relinquishment of parental
rights as provided by this chapter;
(L) been convicted or has been placed on
community supervision, including deferred adjudication community
supervision, for being criminally responsible for the death or
serious injury of a child under the following sections of the Penal
Code, or under a law of another jurisdiction that contains elements
that are substantially similar to the elements of an offense under
one of the following Penal Code sections, or adjudicated under
Title 3 for conduct that caused the death or serious injury of a
child and that would constitute a violation of one of the following
Penal Code sections:
(i) Section 19.02 (murder);
(ii) Section 19.03 (capital murder);
(iii) Section 19.04 (manslaughter);
(iv) Section 21.11 (indecency with a
child);
(v) Section 22.01 (assault);
(vi) Section 22.011 (sexual assault);
(vii) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault);
(viii) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual
assault);
(ix) Section 22.04 (injury to a child,
elderly individual, or disabled individual);
(x) Section 22.041 (abandoning or
endangering a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual);
(xi) Section 25.02 (prohibited sexual
conduct);
(xii) Section 43.25 (sexual performance by
a child);
(xiii) Section 43.26 (possession or
promotion of child pornography);
(xiv) Section 21.02 (continuous sexual
abuse of young child or children);
(xv) Section 20A.02(a)(7) or (8)
(trafficking of persons); and
(xvi) Section 43.05(a)(2) (compelling
prostitution);
(M) had his or her parent-child relationship
terminated with respect to another child based on a finding that the
parent's conduct was in violation of Paragraph (D) or (E) or
substantially equivalent provisions of the law of another state;
(N) constructively abandoned the child who has
been in the permanent or temporary managing conservatorship of the
Department of Family and Protective Services for not less than six
months, and:
(i) the department has made reasonable
efforts to return the child to the parent;
(ii) the parent has not regularly visited
or maintained significant contact with the child; and
(iii) the parent has demonstrated an
inability to provide the child with a safe environment;
(O) failed to comply with the provisions of a
court order that specifically established the actions necessary for
the parent to obtain the return of the child who has been in the
permanent or temporary managing conservatorship of the Department
of Family and Protective Services for not less than nine months as a
result of the child's removal from the parent under Chapter 262 for
the abuse or neglect of the child;
(P) used a controlled substance, as defined by
Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, in a manner that endangered the
health or safety of the child, and:
(i) failed to complete a court-ordered
substance abuse treatment program; or
(ii) after completion of a court-ordered
substance abuse treatment program, continued to abuse a controlled
substance;
(Q) knowingly engaged in criminal conduct that
has resulted in the parent's:
(i) conviction of an offense; and
(ii) confinement or imprisonment and
inability to care for the child for not less than two years from the
date of filing the petition;
(R) been the cause of the child being born
addicted to alcohol or a controlled substance, other than a
controlled substance legally obtained by prescription;
(S) voluntarily delivered the child to a
designated emergency infant care provider under Section 262.302
without expressing an intent to return for the child;
(T) been convicted of:
(i) the murder of the other parent of the
child under Section 19.02 or 19.03, Penal Code, or under a law of
another state, federal law, the law of a foreign country, or the
Uniform Code of Military Justice that contains elements that are
substantially similar to the elements of an offense under Section
19.02 or 19.03, Penal Code;
(ii) criminal attempt under Section 15.01,
Penal Code, or under a law of another state, federal law, the law of
a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice that
contains elements that are substantially similar to the elements of
an offense under Section 15.01, Penal Code, to commit the offense
described by Subparagraph (i);
(iii) criminal solicitation under Section
15.03, Penal Code, or under a law of another state, federal law, the
law of a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice
that contains elements that are substantially similar to the
elements of an offense under Section 15.03, Penal Code, of the
offense described by Subparagraph (i); or
(iv) the sexual assault of the other parent
of the child under Section 22.011 or 22.021, Penal Code, or under a
law of another state, federal law, or the Uniform Code of Military
Justice that contains elements that are substantially similar to
the elements of an offense under Section 22.011 or 22.021, Penal
Code; or
(U) been placed on community supervision,
including deferred adjudication community supervision, or another
functionally equivalent form of community supervision or
probation, for being criminally responsible for the sexual assault
of the other parent of the child under Section 22.011 or 22.021,
Penal Code, or under a law of another state, federal law, or the
Uniform Code of Military Justice that contains elements that are
substantially similar to the elements of an offense under Section
22.011 or 22.021, Penal Code; and
(2) that termination is in the best interest of the
child.
SECTION 6. Section 262.2015(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The court may find under Subsection (a) that a parent
has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances if:
(1) the parent abandoned the child without
identification or a means for identifying the child;
(2) the child or another child of the parent is a
victim of serious bodily injury or sexual abuse inflicted by the
parent or by another person with the parent's consent;
(3) the parent has engaged in conduct against the
child or another child of the parent that would constitute an
offense under the following provisions of the Penal Code:
(A) Section 19.02 (murder);
(B) Section 19.03 (capital murder);
(C) Section 19.04 (manslaughter);
(D) Section 21.11 (indecency with a child);
(E) Section 22.011 (sexual assault);
(F) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault);
(G) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault);
(H) Section 22.04 (injury to a child, elderly
individual, or disabled individual);
(I) Section 22.041 (abandoning or endangering a
child, elderly individual, or disabled individual);
(J) Section 25.02 (prohibited sexual conduct);
(K) Section 43.25 (sexual performance by a
child);
(L) Section 43.26 (possession or promotion of
child pornography);
(M) Section 21.02 (continuous sexual abuse of
young child or children);
(N) Section 43.05(a)(2) (compelling
prostitution); or
(O) Section 20A.02(a)(7) or (8) (trafficking of
persons);
(4) the parent voluntarily left the child alone or in
the possession of another person not the parent of the child for at
least six months without expressing an intent to return and without
providing adequate support for the child;
(5) the parent's parental rights with regard to
another child have been involuntarily terminated based on a finding
that the parent's conduct violated Section 161.001(b)(1)(D) or (E)
or a substantially equivalent provision of another state's law;
(6) the parent has been convicted for:
(A) the murder of another child of the parent and
the offense would have been an offense under 18 U.S.C. Section
1111(a) if the offense had occurred in the special maritime or
territorial jurisdiction of the United States;
(B) the voluntary manslaughter of another child
of the parent and the offense would have been an offense under 18
U.S.C. Section 1112(a) if the offense had occurred in the special
maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the United States;
(C) aiding or abetting, attempting, conspiring,
or soliciting an offense under Paragraph (A) or (B); or
(D) the felony assault of the child or another
child of the parent that resulted in serious bodily injury to the
child or another child of the parent;
(7) the parent's parental rights with regard to
another child of the parent have been involuntarily terminated; or
(8) the parent is required under any state or federal
law to register with a sex offender registry.
SECTION 7. Section 250.006(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A person for whom the facility or the individual
employer is entitled to obtain criminal history record information
may not be employed in a facility or by an individual employer if
the person has been convicted of an offense listed in this
subsection:
(1) an offense under Chapter 19, Penal Code (criminal
homicide);
(2) an offense under Chapter 20, Penal Code
(kidnapping, unlawful restraint, and smuggling of persons);
(3) an offense under Section 21.02, Penal Code
(continuous sexual abuse of young child or children), or Section
21.11, Penal Code (indecency with a child);
(4) an offense under Section 22.011, Penal Code
(sexual assault);
(5) an offense under Section 22.02, Penal Code
(aggravated assault);
(6) an offense under Section 22.04, Penal Code (injury
to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual);
(7) an offense under Section 22.041, Penal Code
(abandoning or endangering a child, elderly individual, or disabled
individual);
(8) an offense under Section 22.08, Penal Code (aiding
suicide);
(9) an offense under Section 25.031, Penal Code
(agreement to abduct from custody);
(10) an offense under Section 25.08, Penal Code (sale
or purchase of child);
(11) an offense under Section 28.02, Penal Code
(arson);
(12) an offense under Section 29.02, Penal Code
(robbery);
(13) an offense under Section 29.03, Penal Code
(aggravated robbery);
(14) an offense under Section 21.08, Penal Code
(indecent exposure);
(15) an offense under Section 21.12, Penal Code
(improper relationship between educator and student);
(16) an offense under Section 21.15, Penal Code
(invasive visual recording);
(17) an offense under Section 22.05, Penal Code
(deadly conduct);
(18) an offense under Section 22.021, Penal Code
(aggravated sexual assault);
(19) an offense under Section 22.07, Penal Code
(terroristic threat);
(20) an offense under Section 32.53, Penal Code
(exploitation of child, elderly individual, or disabled
individual);
(21) an offense under Section 33.021, Penal Code
(online solicitation of a minor);
(22) an offense under Section 34.02, Penal Code (money
laundering);
(23) an offense under Section 35A.02, Penal Code
(health care fraud);
(24) an offense under Section 36.06, Penal Code
(obstruction or retaliation);
(25) an offense under Section 42.09, Penal Code
(cruelty to livestock animals), or under Section 42.092, Penal Code
(cruelty to nonlivestock animals); or
(26) a conviction under the laws of another state,
federal law, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice for an offense
containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements
of an offense listed by this subsection.
SECTION 8. Section 301.4535(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The board shall suspend a nurse's license or refuse to
issue a license to an applicant on proof that the nurse or applicant
has been initially convicted of:
(1) murder under Section 19.02, Penal Code, capital
murder under Section 19.03, Penal Code, or manslaughter under
Section 19.04, Penal Code;
(2) kidnapping or unlawful restraint under Chapter 20,
Penal Code, and the offense was punished as a felony or state jail
felony;
(3) sexual assault under Section 22.011, Penal Code;
(4) aggravated sexual assault under Section 22.021,
Penal Code;
(5) continuous sexual abuse of young child or children
under Section 21.02, Penal Code, or indecency with a child under
Section 21.11, Penal Code;
(6) aggravated assault under Section 22.02, Penal
Code;
(7) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly injuring
a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual under Section
22.04, Penal Code;
(8) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly
abandoning or endangering a child, elderly individual, or disabled
individual under Section 22.041, Penal Code;
(9) aiding suicide under Section 22.08, Penal Code,
and the offense was punished as a state jail felony;
(10) an offense involving a violation of certain court
orders or conditions of bond under Section 25.07, 25.071, or
25.072, Penal Code, punished as a felony;
(11) an agreement to abduct a child from custody under
Section 25.031, Penal Code;
(12) the sale or purchase of a child under Section
25.08, Penal Code;
(13) robbery under Section 29.02, Penal Code;
(14) aggravated robbery under Section 29.03, Penal
Code;
(15) an offense for which a defendant is required to
register as a sex offender under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal
Procedure; or
(16) an offense under the law of another state,
federal law, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice that contains
elements that are substantially similar to the elements of an
offense listed in this subsection.
SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act apply 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 was committed before that
date.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.