85R8913 LHC-D     By: Oliverson H.B. No. 2347       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the prosecution of and increased penalties for certain   offenses involving the trafficking of persons.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 19.03(a), Penal Code, is amended to read   as follows:          (a)  A person commits an offense if the person commits murder   as defined under Section 19.02(b)(1) and:                (1)  the person murders a peace officer or fireman who   is acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty and who the   person knows is a peace officer or fireman;                (2)  the person intentionally commits the murder in the   course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary,   robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, obstruction or   retaliation, trafficking of persons, or terroristic threat under   Section 22.07(a)(1), (3), (4), (5), or (6);                (3)  the person commits the murder for remuneration or   the promise of remuneration or employs another to commit the murder   for remuneration or the promise of remuneration;                (4)  the person commits the murder while escaping or   attempting to escape from a penal institution;                (5)  the person, while incarcerated in a penal   institution, murders another:                      (A)  who is employed in the operation of the penal   institution; or                      (B)  with the intent to establish, maintain, or   participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination;                (6)  the person:                      (A)  while incarcerated for an offense under this   section or Section 19.02, murders another; or                      (B)  while serving a sentence of life imprisonment   or a term of 99 years for an offense under Section 20.04, 22.021, or   29.03, murders another;                (7)  the person murders more than one person:                      (A)  during the same criminal transaction; or                      (B)  during different criminal transactions but   the murders are committed pursuant to the same scheme or course of   conduct;                (8)  the person murders an individual under 10 years of   age; or                (9)  the person murders another person in retaliation   for or on account of the service or status of the other person as a   judge or justice of the supreme court, the court of criminal   appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, a criminal district   court, a constitutional county court, a statutory county court, a   justice court, or a municipal court.          SECTION 2.  Section 20A.02, Penal Code, is amended by   amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to   read as follows:          (b)  An [Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, an]   offense under Subsection (a)(1), (2), (3), or (4) [this section] is   a felony of the second degree.          (b-1)  An offense under [this section is a felony of the   first degree if:                [(1)     the applicable conduct constitutes an offense   under] Subsection (a)(5), (6), (7), or (8) is a felony of the first   degree, regardless of whether the actor knows the age of the child   at the time the actor commits the offense.          (b-2)  Notwithstanding Subsection (b) or (b-1), an offense   under this section is a felony of the first degree punishable by   imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life   without parole if [; or                [(2)]  the commission of the offense results in the   death of the person who is trafficked.          SECTION 3.  Section 2(a), Article 38.37, Code of Criminal   Procedure, is amended to read as follows:          (a)  Subsection (b) applies only to the trial of a defendant   for:                (1)  an offense under any of the following provisions   of the Penal Code:                      (A)  Section 20A.02(a)(7) or (8) [20A.02, if   punishable as a felony of the first degree under Section   20A.02(b)(1)] (Sex Trafficking of a Child);                      (B)  Section 21.02 (Continuous Sexual Abuse of   Young Child or Children);                      (C)  Section 21.11 (Indecency With a Child);                      (D)  Section 22.011(a)(2) (Sexual Assault of a   Child);                      (E)  Sections 22.021(a)(1)(B) and (2) (Aggravated   Sexual Assault of a Child);                      (F)  Section 33.021 (Online Solicitation of a   Minor);                      (G)  Section 43.25 (Sexual Performance by a   Child); or                      (H)  Section 43.26 (Possession or Promotion of   Child Pornography)[, Penal Code]; or                (2)  an attempt or conspiracy to commit an offense   described by Subdivision (1).          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, 2017.