Bill Text: TX SB129 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to the prosecution and punishment for possession or promotion of child pornography; increasing criminal penalties.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-06-18 - Effective on 9/1/23 [SB129 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SB129-Enrolled.html
S.B. No. 129 |
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relating to the prosecution and punishment for possession or | ||
promotion of child pornography; increasing criminal penalties. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Article 12.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
Art. 12.01. FELONIES. Except as provided in Article 12.03, | ||
felony indictments may be presented within these limits, and not | ||
afterward: | ||
(1) no limitation: | ||
(A) murder and manslaughter; | ||
(B) sexual assault under Section 22.011(a)(2), | ||
Penal Code, or aggravated sexual assault under Section | ||
22.021(a)(1)(B), Penal Code; | ||
(C) sexual assault, if: | ||
(i) during the investigation of the offense | ||
biological matter is collected and the matter: | ||
(a) has not yet been subjected to | ||
forensic DNA testing; or | ||
(b) has been subjected to forensic DNA | ||
testing and the testing results show that the matter does not match | ||
the victim or any other person whose identity is readily | ||
ascertained; or | ||
(ii) probable cause exists to believe that | ||
the defendant has committed the same or a similar sex offense | ||
against five or more victims; | ||
(D) continuous sexual abuse of young child or | ||
disabled individual under Section 21.02, Penal Code; | ||
(E) indecency with a child under Section 21.11, | ||
Penal Code; | ||
(F) an offense involving leaving the scene of an | ||
accident under Section 550.021, Transportation Code, if the | ||
accident resulted in the death of a person; | ||
(G) trafficking of persons under Section | ||
20A.02(a)(7) or (8), Penal Code; | ||
(H) continuous trafficking of persons under | ||
Section 20A.03, Penal Code; or | ||
(I) compelling prostitution under Section | ||
43.05(a)(2), Penal Code; | ||
(2) ten years from the date of the commission of the | ||
offense: | ||
(A) theft of any estate, real, personal or mixed, | ||
by an executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, with intent to | ||
defraud any creditor, heir, legatee, ward, distributee, | ||
beneficiary or settlor of a trust interested in such estate; | ||
(B) theft by a public servant of government | ||
property over which the public servant exercises control in the | ||
public servant's official capacity; | ||
(C) forgery or the uttering, using, or passing of | ||
forged instruments; | ||
(D) injury to an elderly or disabled individual | ||
punishable as a felony of the first degree under Section 22.04, | ||
Penal Code; | ||
(E) sexual assault, except as provided by | ||
Subdivision (1) or (7); | ||
(F) arson; | ||
(G) trafficking of persons under Section | ||
20A.02(a)(1), (2), (3), or (4), Penal Code; or | ||
(H) compelling prostitution under Section | ||
43.05(a)(1), Penal Code; | ||
(3) seven years from the date of the commission of the | ||
offense: | ||
(A) misapplication of fiduciary property or | ||
property of a financial institution; | ||
(B) fraudulent securing of document execution; | ||
(C) a felony violation under Chapter 162, Tax | ||
Code; | ||
(D) false statement to obtain property or credit | ||
under Section 32.32, Penal Code; | ||
(E) money laundering; | ||
(F) credit card or debit card abuse under Section | ||
32.31, Penal Code; | ||
(G) fraudulent use or possession of identifying | ||
information under Section 32.51, Penal Code; | ||
(H) exploitation of a child, elderly individual, | ||
or disabled individual under Section 32.53, Penal Code; | ||
(I) health care fraud under Section 35A.02, Penal | ||
Code; [ |
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(J) bigamy under Section 25.01, Penal Code, | ||
except as provided by Subdivision (6); or | ||
(K) possession or promotion of child pornography | ||
under Section 43.26, Penal Code; | ||
(4) five years from the date of the commission of the | ||
offense: | ||
(A) theft or robbery; | ||
(B) except as provided by Subdivision (5), | ||
kidnapping or burglary; | ||
(C) injury to an elderly or disabled individual | ||
that is not punishable as a felony of the first degree under Section | ||
22.04, Penal Code; | ||
(D) abandoning or endangering a child; or | ||
(E) insurance fraud; | ||
(5) if the investigation of the offense shows that the | ||
victim is younger than 17 years of age at the time the offense is | ||
committed, 20 years from the 18th birthday of the victim of one of | ||
the following offenses: | ||
(A) sexual performance by a child under Section | ||
43.25, Penal Code; | ||
(B) aggravated kidnapping under Section | ||
20.04(a)(4), Penal Code, if the defendant committed the offense | ||
with the intent to violate or abuse the victim sexually; or | ||
(C) burglary under Section 30.02, Penal Code, if | ||
the offense is punishable under Subsection (d) of that section and | ||
the defendant committed the offense with the intent to commit an | ||
offense described by Subdivision (1)(B) or (D) of this article or | ||
Paragraph (B) of this subdivision; | ||
(6) ten years from the 18th birthday of the victim of | ||
the offense: | ||
(A) trafficking of persons under Section | ||
20A.02(a)(5) or (6), Penal Code; | ||
(B) injury to a child under Section 22.04, Penal | ||
Code; or | ||
(C) bigamy under Section 25.01, Penal Code, if | ||
the investigation of the offense shows that the person, other than | ||
the legal spouse of the defendant, whom the defendant marries or | ||
purports to marry or with whom the defendant lives under the | ||
appearance of being married is younger than 18 years of age at the | ||
time the offense is committed; | ||
(7) two years from the date the offense was | ||
discovered: sexual assault punishable as a state jail felony under | ||
Section 22.011(f)(2), Penal Code; or | ||
(8) three years from the date of the commission of the | ||
offense: all other felonies. | ||
SECTION 2. 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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[ |
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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 3. Article 12.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, as | ||
amended by this Act, does not apply to an offense if the prosecution | ||
of that offense becomes barred by limitation before the effective | ||
date of this Act. The prosecution of that offense remains barred as | ||
if this Act had not taken effect. | ||
SECTION 4. Section 43.26, Penal Code, as amended 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 5. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails | ||
over another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, | ||
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted | ||
codes. | ||
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 129 passed the Senate on | ||
April 20, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 129 passed the House on | ||
May 22, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, | ||
one present not voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
Approved: | ||
______________________________ | ||
Date | ||
______________________________ | ||
Governor |