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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the prosecution of the offenses of sexual assault and |
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aggravated sexual assault. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 22.011(b), Penal Code, as effective |
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September 1, 2017, is amended to read as follows: |
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(b) A sexual assault under Subsection (a)(1) is without the |
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consent of the other person if: |
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(1) the actor compels the other person to submit or |
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participate by the use of physical force, violence, or coercion; |
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(2) the actor compels the other person to submit or |
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participate by threatening to use force or violence against the |
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other person or to cause harm to the other person, and the other |
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person believes that the actor has the present ability to execute |
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the threat; |
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(3) the other person has not consented and the actor |
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knows the other person is: |
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(A) unconscious; |
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(B) [or] physically unable to resist; |
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(C) incapable of appraising the nature of the |
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act; or |
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(D) unaware that the sexual assault is occurring; |
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(4) the actor knows that as a result of mental disease |
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or defect the other person is at the time of the sexual assault |
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incapable either of appraising the nature of the act or of resisting |
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it; |
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(5) [the other person has not consented and the actor
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knows the other person is unaware that the sexual assault is
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occurring;
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[(6)
the actor has intentionally impaired the other
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person's power to appraise or control the other person's conduct by
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administering any substance without the other person's knowledge;
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[(7)] the actor compels the other person to submit or |
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participate by threatening to use force or violence against any |
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person, and the other person believes that the actor has the ability |
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to execute the threat; |
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(6) [(8)] the actor is a public servant who coerces |
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the other person to submit or participate; |
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(7) [(9)] the actor is a mental health services |
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provider or a health care services provider who causes the other |
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person, who is a patient or former patient of the actor, to submit |
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or participate by exploiting the other person's emotional |
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dependency on the actor; |
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(8) [(10)] the actor is a clergyman who causes the |
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other person to submit or participate by exploiting the other |
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person's emotional dependency on the clergyman in the clergyman's |
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professional character as spiritual adviser; [or] |
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(9) [(11)] the actor is an employee of a facility |
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where the other person is a resident, unless the employee and |
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resident are formally or informally married to each other under |
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Chapter 2, Family Code; or |
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(10) the actor knows that the other person has |
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withdrawn consent to the act and the actor persists in the act after |
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consent is withdrawn. |
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SECTION 2. Section 22.011(c), Penal Code, is amended by |
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adding Subdivision (6) to read as follows: |
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(6) Notwithstanding Section 1.07, "consent" means |
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express consent demonstrated through words or actions indicating an |
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active and voluntary agreement to participate in an act. |
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SECTION 3. Section 22.011, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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Subsection (e-1) to read as follows: |
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(e-1) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section |
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that the actor mistakenly believed that the other person consented |
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to the conduct if a reasonable person should have known or |
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understood that the other person did not consent to the conduct. |
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SECTION 4. Section 22.021(b), Penal Code, is amended by |
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adding Subdivision (4) to read as follows: |
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(4) Notwithstanding Section 1.07, "consent" has the |
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meaning assigned by Section 22.011. |
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SECTION 5. Section 22.021, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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Subsection (d-1) to read as follows: |
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(d-1) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section |
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that the actor mistakenly believed that the other person consented |
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to the conduct if a reasonable person should have known or |
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understood that the other person did not consent to the conduct. |
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SECTION 6. 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 7. This Act takes effect December 1, 2017. |