Bill Text: TX HB60 | 2013 | 83rd Legislature 2nd Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the use of force in defense of property.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-07-19 - Filed [HB60 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HB60-Introduced.html
By: Burnam | H.B. No. 60 |
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relating to the use of force in defense of property. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 9.41, Penal Code, is amended by amending | ||
Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: | ||
(b) A person unlawfully dispossessed of land or tangible, | ||
movable property by another is justified in using force against the | ||
other when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force | ||
is immediately necessary to reenter the land or recover the | ||
property if: | ||
(1) the actor uses the force immediately or in fresh | ||
pursuit after the dispossession and: | ||
(A) [ |
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other had no claim of right when he dispossessed the actor; or | ||
(B) [ |
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dispossession by using force, threat, or fraud against the actor; | ||
and | ||
(2) the dispossession was not an element of a criminal | ||
offense the actor committed or attempted to commit. | ||
(c) For purposes of Subsection (b)(2), a dispossession is | ||
presumed not to have been an element of any commission or attempted | ||
commission of a criminal offense by the actor. This presumption may | ||
be refuted only if the state proves by a preponderance of the | ||
evidence that the actor committed or attempted to commit a criminal | ||
offense and that the dispossession was an element of that offense. | ||
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 on the 91st day after the | ||
last day of the legislative session. |