Bill Text: TX HB674 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the prosecution and punishment of certain criminal offenses committed in the course of or for the purpose of avoiding certain law enforcement checkpoints or evading an arrest or detention; increasing criminal penalties.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-11-12 - Filed [HB674 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-HB674-Introduced.html

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89R3284 JRR-F
By: Spiller H.B. No. 674

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution and punishment of certain criminal
offenses committed in the course of or for the purpose of avoiding
certain law enforcement checkpoints or evading an arrest or
detention; increasing criminal penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 3.03(d)(1), Penal Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d)(1) This subsection applies only to a single criminal
action in which the accused is found guilty of:
(A) an offense under Section 20.05(a)(2) or an
offense under Section 20.06 involving conduct constituting an
offense under Section 20.05(a)(2); and
(B) an offense punishable under Section
22.01(b-4)(1), 28.10(1) [22.01(b-4), 28.10], 30.02(c-2),
30.04(d)(3)(B)(i), 30.05(d)(4)(A) [30.04(d)(3)(B), 30.05(d)(4)],
or 38.04(b-1) that arises out of the same criminal episode as the
offense described by Paragraph (A).
SECTION 2. Section 20.05, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (b-3) to read as follows:
(b-3) For purposes of Subsection (a)(1)(A), the actor is
presumed to have acted knowingly and with the intent to conceal the
individual being transported from a peace officer or special
investigator if in the course of committing the offense the actor
intentionally avoided a federal or state law enforcement
checkpoint.
SECTION 3. Section 22.01(b-4), Penal Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b-4) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), an offense under
Subsection (a)(1) is a felony of the third degree if it is shown on
the trial of the offense that the actor:
(1) committed the offense in the course of committing
an offense under Section 20.05(a)(2); or
(2) committed the offense in the course of or for the
purpose of intentionally avoiding a federal or state law
enforcement checkpoint.
SECTION 4. Section 28.10, Penal Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 28.10. ENHANCED PENALTY FOR CERTAIN MISDEMEANORS OR
STATE JAIL FELONIES. The punishment for an offense under this
chapter that is punishable as a misdemeanor or a state jail felony
is increased to the punishment for a felony of the third degree if
it is shown on the trial of the offense that the actor:
(1) committed the offense in the course of committing
an offense under Section 20.05(a)(2); or
(2) committed the offense in the course of or for the
purpose of:
(A) intentionally avoiding a federal or state law
enforcement checkpoint; or
(B) engaging in conduct constituting an offense
under Section 38.04.
SECTION 5. Section 30.02, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-3) to read as
follows:
(c) Except as provided in Subsection (c-1), (c-2), (c-3), or
(d), an offense under this section is a:
(1) state jail felony if committed in a building other
than a habitation; or
(2) felony of the second degree if committed in a
habitation.
(c-3) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
degree if:
(1) the premises are a building other than a
habitation; and
(2) it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
actor committed the offense in the course of or for the purpose of
intentionally avoiding a federal or state law enforcement
checkpoint.
SECTION 6. Section 30.04(d), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
except that:
(1) the offense is a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum
term of confinement of six months if it is shown on the trial of the
offense that the defendant has been previously convicted of an
offense under this section;
(2) the offense is a state jail felony if:
(A) it is shown on the trial of the offense that
the defendant has been previously convicted two or more times of an
offense under this section; or
(B) the vehicle or part of the vehicle broken
into or entered is a rail car; and
(3) the offense is a felony of the third degree if:
(A) the vehicle broken into or entered is owned
or operated by a wholesale distributor of prescription drugs and
the actor breaks into or enters that vehicle with the intent to
commit theft of a controlled substance; or
(B) it is shown on the trial of the offense that
the actor:
(i) committed the offense in the course of
committing an offense under Section 20.05(a)(2); or
(ii) committed the offense in the course of
or for the purpose of intentionally avoiding a federal or state law
enforcement checkpoint.
SECTION 7. Section 30.05(d), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(d) Subject to Subsection (d-3), an offense under this
section is:
(1) a Class B misdemeanor, except as provided by
Subdivisions (2), (3), and (4);
(2) a Class C misdemeanor, except as provided by
Subdivisions (3) and (4), if the offense is committed:
(A) on agricultural land and within 100 feet of
the boundary of the land; or
(B) on residential land and within 100 feet of a
protected freshwater area;
(3) a Class A misdemeanor, except as provided by
Subdivision (4), if:
(A) the offense is committed:
(i) in a habitation or a shelter center;
(ii) on a Superfund site; or
(iii) on or in a critical infrastructure
facility;
(B) the offense is committed on or in property of
an institution of higher education and it is shown on the trial of
the offense that the person has previously been convicted of:
(i) an offense under this section relating
to entering or remaining on or in property of an institution of
higher education; or
(ii) an offense under Section 51.204(b)(1),
Education Code, relating to trespassing on the grounds of an
institution of higher education;
(C) the person carries a deadly weapon during the
commission of the offense; or
(D) the offense is committed on the property of
or within a general residential operation operating as a
residential treatment center; and
(4) a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the
trial of the offense that the defendant:
(A) committed the offense in the course of
committing an offense under Section 20.05(a)(2); or
(B) committed the offense in the course of or for
the purpose of intentionally avoiding a federal or state law
enforcement checkpoint.
SECTION 8. 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 9. This Act takes effect July 1, 2025, if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for effect on that
date, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.