Bill Text: TX HB2461 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to pretrial procedures and criminal punishment for conduct that occurs during a riot; increasing criminal penalties.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-16 - Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence [HB2461 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB2461-Introduced.html

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87R10962 TYPED
By: Landgraf H.B. No. 2461

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to pretrial procedures and criminal punishment for conduct
that occurs during a riot; increasing criminal penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 17.03(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) Only the court before whom the case is pending may
release on personal bond a defendant who:
(1) is charged with an offense under the following
sections of the Penal Code:
(A) Section 19.03 (Capital Murder);
(B) Section 20.04 (Aggravated Kidnapping);
(C) Section 22.021 (Aggravated Sexual Assault);
(D) Section 22.03 (Deadly Assault on Law
Enforcement or Corrections Officer, Member or Employee of Board of
Pardons and Paroles, or Court Participant);
(E) Section 22.04 (Injury to a Child, Elderly
Individual, or Disabled Individual);
(F) Section 29.03 (Aggravated Robbery);
(G) Section 30.02 (Burglary);
(H) Section 71.02 (Engaging in Organized
Criminal Activity);
(I) Section 21.02 (Continuous Sexual Abuse of
Young Child or Children); [or]
(J) Section 20A.03 (Continuous Trafficking of
Persons);
(K) Section 42.02 (Riot); or
(L) Section 12.501(c), if the arresting officer
attests that at the time of the offense the actor was participating
in a riot, regardless of whether the actor is charged with an
offense under Section 42.02, Penal Code;
(2) is charged with a felony under Chapter 481, Health
and Safety Code, or Section 485.033, Health and Safety Code,
punishable by imprisonment for a minimum term or by a maximum fine
that is more than a minimum term or maximum fine for a first degree
felony; or
(3) does not submit to testing for the presence of a
controlled substance in the defendant's body as requested by the
court or magistrate under Subsection (c) of this article or submits
to testing and the test shows evidence of the presence of a
controlled substance in the defendant's body.
SECTION 2. Article 17.033, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) Notwithstanding the time limits imposed by Subsections
(a) and (b), a person who is arrested without a warrant for an
alleged violation of Section 42.02, Penal Code, or for an alleged
violation of an offense listed in Section 12.501(c), Penal Code, if
the arresting officer attests that at the time of the offense the
actor was participating in a riot, and who is detained in jail may
not be released on bond before the earlier of:
(1) the day on which the court before whom the case is
pending is reasonably able to verify the person's:
(A) name;
(B) address of primary residence;
(C) driver's license number and state of
issuance, if any;
(D) place of employment, if any; and
(E) current enrollment at an institution of
higher education, if any; or
(2) the fifth day after the commencement of the
person's detention.
SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Penal Code, is amended
by adding Section 12.501 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.501. PENALTY IF OFFENSE COMMITTED DURING A RIOT.
(a) In this section, "riot" has the meaning assigned by Section
42.02.
(b) Subject to Subsections (d) and (e), the punishment for
an offense listed under Subsection (c) is increased to the
punishment prescribed for the next higher category of offense if it
is shown on the trial of the offense that at the time of the offense
the actor was participating in a riot.
(c) The increase in punishment authorized by this section
applies only to an offense under:
(1) Section 22.01 (Assault);
(2) Section 28.02 (Arson);
(3) Section 28.03 (Criminal Mischief);
(4) Section 29.02 (Robbery);
(5) Section 30.02 (Burglary);
(6) Section 30.03 (Burglary of Coin-operated or Coin
Collection Machines);
(7) Section 30.04 (Burglary of Vehicles);
(8) Section 30.05 (Criminal Trespass); and
(9) Section 31.03 (Theft).
(d) If an offense listed under Subsection (c) is punishable
as a Class A misdemeanor after the application of Subsection (b),
the minimum term of confinement for the offense shall be no less
than 180 days.
(e) If an offense listed under Subsection (c) is punishable
as a felony of the first degree, the punishment of that offense may
not be increased under this section.
SECTION 4. Articles 17.03 and 17.033, Code of Criminal
Procedure, as amended by this Act, apply only to a person who is
arrested on or after the effective date of this Act. A person
arrested before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect on the date the person was arrested, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. Section 12.501, Penal Code, as added 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 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.