By: Zaffirini	S.B. No. 50
	(In the Senate - Filed November 14, 2016; January 24, 2017,
	read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
	April 27, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 7,
	Nays 0, 1 present not voting; April 27, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the offense of hazing.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 37.151(6), Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(6)  "Hazing" means any intentional, knowing, or
	reckless act, occurring on or off the campus of an educational
	institution, by one person alone or acting with others, directed
	against a student[, that endangers the mental or physical health or
	safety of a student] for the purpose of pledging, being initiated
	into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining
	membership in an organization if the act:
	(A)  is[.  The term includes:
	[(A)]  any type of physical brutality, such as
	whipping, beating, striking, branding, electronic shocking,
	placing of a harmful substance on the body, or similar activity;
	(B)  involves [any type of physical activity, such
	as] sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement in a
	small space, calisthenics, or other similar activity that subjects
	the student to an unreasonable risk of harm or that adversely
	affects the mental or physical health or safety of the student;
	(C)  involves [any activity involving]
	consumption of a food, liquid, alcoholic beverage, liquor, drug, or
	other substance, other than as described by Paragraph (F), that
	subjects the student to an unreasonable risk of harm or that
	adversely affects the mental or physical health or safety of the
	student;
	(D)  is any activity that:
	(i)  a reasonable person would believe
	intimidates or threatens the student with ostracism, [that]
	subjects the student to extreme mental stress, shame, or
	humiliation, [that] adversely affects the mental health or dignity
	of the student, or discourages the student from entering or
	remaining registered in an educational institution;[,] or
	(ii)  [that] may reasonably be expected to
	cause the [a] student to leave the organization or the institution
	rather than submit to the activity [acts described in this
	subdivision]; [and]
	(E)  is any activity that induces, causes, or
	requires the student to perform a duty or task that involves a
	violation of a state or federal penal law or a penal ordinance of a
	political subdivision; or
	(F)  involves coercing, as defined by Section
	1.07, Penal Code, the student to consume an alcoholic beverage,
	liquor, or drug or creates an environment in which the student
	reasonably feels coerced to consume any of those substances [the
	Penal Code].
	SECTION 2.  Section 37.155, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 37.155.  IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION OR CIVIL LIABILITY
	AVAILABLE.  (a)  In the prosecution of an offense under this
	subchapter, the court may grant immunity from prosecution for the
	offense to each person who is subpoenaed to testify for the
	prosecution and who does testify for the prosecution.
	(b)  Any person who voluntarily reports [reporting] a
	specific hazing incident involving a student in an educational
	institution to the dean of students or other appropriate official
	of the institution is immune from civil or criminal liability that
	might otherwise be incurred or imposed as a result of the reported
	hazing incident if the person:
	(1)  reports the incident before being contacted by the
	institution concerning the incident or otherwise being included in
	the institution's investigation of the incident; and
	(2)  as determined by the dean of students or other
	appropriate official of the institution designated by the
	institution, cooperates in good faith throughout any institutional
	process regarding the incident [report].
	(c)  Immunity under Subsection (b) extends to participation
	in any judicial proceeding resulting from the report.
	(d)  A person is not immune under Subsection (b) if the
	person:
	(1)  reports the person's own act of hazing; or
	(2)  reports an incident of hazing [reporting] in bad
	faith or with malice [is not protected by this section].
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter F, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 37.158 to read as follows:
	Sec. 37.158.  VENUE. (a)  In this section, "prosecuting
	attorney" means a county attorney, district attorney, or criminal
	district attorney.
	(b)  An offense under this subchapter may be prosecuted:
	(1)  in any county in which the offense may be
	prosecuted under other law; or
	(2)  if the consent required by Subsection (c) is
	provided, in a county, other than a county described by Subdivision
	(1), in which is located the educational institution campus at
	which a victim of the offense is enrolled.
	(c)  An offense under this subchapter may be prosecuted in a
	county described by Subsection (b)(2) only with the written consent
	of a prosecuting attorney of a county described by Subsection
	(b)(1) who has authority to prosecute an offense under this
	subchapter.
	SECTION 4.  Section 51.936(c), Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(c)  Not later than the 21st day of each semester, each
	[Each] postsecondary educational institution shall distribute to
	each student enrolled at the institution [during the first three
	weeks of each semester]:
	(1)  a summary of the provisions of Subchapter F,
	Chapter 37; and
	(2)  a list of organizations that have been disciplined
	for hazing or convicted for hazing on or off the campus of the
	institution during the preceding three years.
	SECTION 5.  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 when 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 6.  Section 37.155, Education Code, as amended by
	this Act, applies only to a civil cause of action that accrues on or
	after the effective date of this Act. An action that accrued before
	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at
	the time the action accrued, and that law is continued in effect for
	that purpose.
	SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
	* * * * *