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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to an offense committed against a person because of bias or |
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prejudice on the basis of gender identity or expression. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Articles 42.014(a) and (c), Code of Criminal |
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Procedure, are amended to read as follows: |
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(a) In the trial of an offense under Title 5, Penal Code, or |
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Section 28.02, 28.03, or 28.08, Penal Code, the judge shall make an |
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affirmative finding of fact and enter the affirmative finding in |
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the judgment of the case if at the guilt or innocence phase of the |
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trial, the judge or the jury, whichever is the trier of fact, |
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determines beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant |
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intentionally selected the person against whom the offense was |
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committed or intentionally selected property damaged or affected as |
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a result of the offense because of the defendant's bias or prejudice |
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against a group identified by race, color, disability, religion, |
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national origin or ancestry, age, gender, [or] sexual preference, |
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or gender identity or expression. |
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(c) In this article: |
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(1) "Gender identity or expression" means having or |
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being perceived as having a gender-related identity, appearance, |
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expression, or behavior, regardless of whether that identity, |
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appearance, expression, or behavior is different from that commonly |
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associated with the person's actual or perceived sex. |
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(2) "Sexual [, "sexual] preference" has the following |
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meaning only: a preference for heterosexuality, homosexuality, or |
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bisexuality. |
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SECTION 2. 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |