Bill Text: TX HB2461 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Relating to pretrial procedures and criminal punishment for conduct that occurs during a riot; increasing criminal penalties.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-16 - Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence [HB2461 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB2461-Introduced.html
  87R10962 TYPED
 
  By: Landgraf H.B. No. 2461
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to pretrial procedures and criminal punishment for conduct
  that occurs during a riot; increasing criminal penalties.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Article 17.03(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  Only the court before whom the case is pending may
  release on personal bond a defendant who:
               (1)  is charged with an offense under the following
  sections of the Penal Code:
                     (A)  Section 19.03 (Capital Murder);
                     (B)  Section 20.04 (Aggravated Kidnapping);
                     (C)  Section 22.021 (Aggravated Sexual Assault);
                     (D)  Section 22.03 (Deadly Assault on Law
  Enforcement or Corrections Officer, Member or Employee of Board of
  Pardons and Paroles, or Court Participant);
                     (E)  Section 22.04 (Injury to a Child, Elderly
  Individual, or Disabled Individual);
                     (F)  Section 29.03 (Aggravated Robbery);
                     (G)  Section 30.02 (Burglary);
                     (H)  Section 71.02 (Engaging in Organized
  Criminal Activity);
                     (I)  Section 21.02 (Continuous Sexual Abuse of
  Young Child or Children); [or]
                     (J)  Section 20A.03 (Continuous Trafficking of
  Persons);
                     (K)  Section 42.02 (Riot); or
                     (L)  Section 12.501(c), if the arresting officer
  attests that at the time of the offense the actor was participating
  in a riot, regardless of whether the actor is charged with an
  offense under Section 42.02, Penal Code;
               (2)  is charged with a felony under Chapter 481, Health
  and Safety Code, or Section 485.033, Health and Safety Code,
  punishable by imprisonment for a minimum term or by a maximum fine
  that is more than a minimum term or maximum fine for a first degree
  felony; or
               (3)  does not submit to testing for the presence of a
  controlled substance in the defendant's body as requested by the
  court or magistrate under Subsection (c) of this article or submits
  to testing and the test shows evidence of the presence of a
  controlled substance in the defendant's body.
         SECTION 2.  Article 17.033, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
         (e)  Notwithstanding the time limits imposed by Subsections
  (a) and (b), a person who is arrested without a warrant for an
  alleged violation of Section 42.02, Penal Code, or for an alleged
  violation of an offense listed in Section 12.501(c), Penal Code, if
  the arresting officer attests that at the time of the offense the
  actor was participating in a riot, and who is detained in jail may
  not be released on bond before the earlier of:
               (1)  the day on which the court before whom the case is
  pending is reasonably able to verify the person's:
                     (A)  name;
                     (B)  address of primary residence;
                     (C)  driver's license number and state of
  issuance, if any;
                     (D)  place of employment, if any; and
                     (E)  current enrollment at an institution of
  higher education, if any; or
               (2)  the fifth day after the commencement of the
  person's detention.
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Penal Code, is amended
  by adding Section 12.501 to read as follows:
         Sec. 12.501.  PENALTY IF OFFENSE COMMITTED DURING A RIOT.
  (a) In this section, "riot" has the meaning assigned by Section
  42.02.
         (b)  Subject to Subsections (d) and (e), the punishment for
  an offense listed under Subsection (c) is increased to the
  punishment prescribed for the next higher category of offense if it
  is shown on the trial of the offense that at the time of the offense
  the actor was participating in a riot.
         (c)  The increase in punishment authorized by this section
  applies only to an offense under:
               (1)  Section 22.01 (Assault);
               (2)  Section 28.02 (Arson);
               (3)  Section 28.03 (Criminal Mischief);
               (4)  Section 29.02 (Robbery);
               (5)  Section 30.02 (Burglary);
               (6)  Section 30.03 (Burglary of Coin-operated or Coin
  Collection Machines);
               (7)  Section 30.04 (Burglary of Vehicles);
               (8)  Section 30.05 (Criminal Trespass); and
               (9)  Section 31.03 (Theft).
         (d)  If an offense listed under Subsection (c) is punishable
  as a Class A misdemeanor after the application of Subsection (b),
  the minimum term of confinement for the offense shall be no less
  than 180 days.
         (e)  If an offense listed under Subsection (c) is punishable
  as a felony of the first degree, the punishment of that offense may
  not be increased under this section.
         SECTION 4.  Articles 17.03 and 17.033, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, as amended by this Act, apply only to a person who is
  arrested on or after the effective date of this Act. A person
  arrested before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
  law in effect on the date the person was arrested, and the former
  law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 5.  Section 12.501, Penal Code, as added 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 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
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