Bill Text: TX HB4453 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to creating the criminal offense of retaliation involving immigration status.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-26 - Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence [HB4453 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB4453-Introduced.html
| 86R14364 ADM-D | ||
| By: Rodriguez | H.B. No. 4453 | |
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| relating to creating the criminal offense of retaliation involving | ||
| immigration status. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Chapter 36, Penal Code, is amended by adding | ||
| Section 36.061 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 36.061. RETALIATION INVOLVING IMMIGRATION STATUS. (a) | ||
| A person commits an offense if the person, with the intent to | ||
| prevent or delay the service of another as a prospective informant | ||
| or witness, intentionally or knowingly: | ||
| (1) reports or threatens to report the other person's | ||
| immigration status to United States Immigration and Customs | ||
| Enforcement or another law enforcement agency; or | ||
| (2) destroys or withholds, or threatens to destroy or | ||
| withhold, a form of government-issued identifying documentation | ||
| issued to the other person. | ||
| (b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), an offense under | ||
| this section is a felony of the third degree. | ||
| (c) An offense under this section is a felony of the second | ||
| degree if the victim was a prospective informant in the | ||
| investigation of, or a prospective witness in the prosecution of, | ||
| an offense: | ||
| (1) involving family violence, as defined by Section | ||
| 71.004, Family Code; or | ||
| (2) under Section 20A.02, 20A.03, 21.02, 21.11, | ||
| 22.011, or 22.021, Penal Code. | ||
| (d) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this | ||
| section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor | ||
| may be prosecuted under this section or the other law. | ||
| 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, 2019. | ||
