87R2720 JRR-F     By: King of Parker H.B. No. 796       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to certain defenses to prosecution involving the   justifiable use of force or threat of force.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 9.04, Penal Code, is amended to read as   follows:          Sec. 9.04.  THREATS AS JUSTIFIABLE FORCE. The threat of   force is justified when the use of force is justified by this   chapter. For purposes of this section, a threat to cause death or   serious bodily injury by the exhibition [production] of a weapon or   otherwise, as long as the actor's purpose is limited to creating an   apprehension that the actor [he] will use deadly force if   necessary, does not constitute the use of deadly force.          SECTION 2.  Section 9.31(a), Penal Code, is amended to read   as follows:          (a)  Except as provided in Subsection (b), a person is   justified in using force against another when and to the degree the   actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to   protect the actor against the other's use or attempted use of   unlawful force. The actor's belief that the force was immediately   necessary as described by this subsection is presumed to be   reasonable if the actor:                (1)  knew or had reason to believe that the person   against whom the force was used:                      (A)  unlawfully and with force entered, or was   attempting to enter unlawfully and with force, the actor's occupied   habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment;                      (B)  unlawfully and with force removed, or was   attempting to remove unlawfully and with force, the actor from the   actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment; or                      (C)  was committing or attempting to commit:                            (i)  aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual   assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated   robbery; or                            (ii)  arson, if the property intended to be   damaged or destroyed was an occupied building, an occupied   habitation, or an occupied vehicle;                (2)  did not provoke the person against whom the force   was used; and                (3)  was not otherwise engaged in criminal activity,   other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or   ordinance regulating traffic at the time the force was used.          SECTION 3.  Section 9.32(a), Penal Code, is amended to read   as follows:          (a)  A person is justified in using deadly force against   another:                (1)  if the actor would be justified in using force   against the other under Section 9.31; and                (2)  when and to the degree the actor reasonably   believes the deadly force is immediately necessary:                      (A)  to protect the actor against the other's use   or attempted use of unlawful deadly force; or                      (B)  to prevent the other's imminent commission   of:                            (i)  aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual   assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated   robbery; or                            (ii)  arson, if the property intended to be   damaged or destroyed was an occupied building, an occupied   habitation, or an occupied vehicle.          SECTION 4.  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 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.