Bill Text: TX HB2143 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the punishment for possession of child pornography; increasing criminal penalties.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-09 - Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence [HB2143 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB2143-Introduced.html
88R1679 MEW-F | ||
By: Meyer | H.B. No. 2143 |
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relating to the punishment for possession of child pornography; | ||
increasing criminal penalties. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 43.26, Penal Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(d) An offense under Subsection (a) is: | ||
(1) a felony of the third degree if the person | ||
possesses visual material that contains fewer than 100 visual | ||
depictions of a child as described by Subsection (a)(1); | ||
(2) [ |
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that contains 100 or more visual depictions of a child as described | ||
by Subsection (a)(1) but fewer than 500 such depictions [ |
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(3) [ |
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that contains 500 or more visual depictions of a child as described | ||
by Subsection (a)(1); or | ||
(4) a felony of the first degree punishable by | ||
imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life | ||
or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than 25 years if it | ||
is shown on the trial of the offense that, at the time of the | ||
offense, the person was: | ||
(A) an employee at a child-care facility or a | ||
residential child-care facility, as those terms are defined by | ||
Section 42.002, Human Resources Code; | ||
(B) an employee at a residential treatment | ||
facility established under Section 221.056, Human Resources Code; | ||
(C) an employee at a shelter or facility that | ||
serves youth and that receives state funds; or | ||
(D) receiving state funds for the care of a child | ||
depicted by the visual material [ |
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(d-1) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under | ||
Subsection (a) that the visual material depicted a child younger | ||
than 10 years of age at the time the image of the child was made or | ||
that the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense | ||
under that subsection: | ||
(1) an offense described for purposes of punishment by | ||
Subsection (d)(1) or (2) is increased to the next higher category of | ||
offense; or | ||
(2) the minimum term of confinement for an offense | ||
described for purposes of punishment by Subsection (d)(3) is | ||
increased to 15 years. | ||
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, 2023. |