2009
SB 1930 provides that a plaintiff under the age of 18 be allowed to have his/her identifying information kept confidential in a civil suit where the plaintiff is seeking relief, including damages, in regards to a sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault.
HB 533 adds human trafficking to the list of penal code offenses for which limits do not apply on the amount of damages that can be awarded in a civil suit.
HB 3246 authorizes a court to issue a writ of attachment in a case relating to sexual assault of child, aggravated sexual assault of a child, continual sexual abuse of a child or indecency with a child to take property into custody that equals an appropriate amount to cover counseling and medical needs of the plaintiff while legal action is pending.
HB 533 provides that a defendant who engages in the trafficking of persons or who intentionally or knowingly benefits from participating in a venture that trafficks is liable, to the person trafficked, for damages arising from the trafficking of that person.
HB 2130 authorizes a prosecutor to request the Texas Rangers assist a local law enforcement agency in an investigation of an offense that was allegedly committed by an elected officer of the political subdivision represented by the agency and would, upon conviction or adjudication, require the elected official to register as a sex offender.
HB 2153 adds to the locations in which a sex offender who has not registered can be prosecuted, the county in which the person indicated they would register, regardless of whether the person tried to establish residence there, and the county in which the person actually resides or was found by a peace officer, regardless of how long the person has been in the county or intends to stay.
HB 3751 allows a magistrate to revoke bond and deny future release of a defendant charged with sexual offenses, prohibited sexual conduct or sexual performance by a child when the child is younger than 14 years of age and the defendant violated a “no communication with the victim” order or going near the school, residence or other location frequented by the victim.
HB 3751 requires, rather than authorizes, a magistrate to order as a condition of bond the defendant to not communicate with or go near a school, residence or other location frequented by the child victim. Applies to cases in which the child is younger than 14 years of age, rather than 12 years of age, and is a victim of sexual or assaultive offenses.
HB 1985 requires, rather than authorizes, that a court, upon request of the victim, order a defendant who has been indicted or waived indictment for a sexual offense undergo testing for HIV and other sexual transmitted diseases within 48 hours.
HB 2236 provides victims of assault or sexual assault who are younger than 17 or whose case involves family violence the right to have the court consider the impact on the victim of a continuance requested by the defendant. The court is required to state on the record the reason for granting or denying the continuance if requested by an attorney representing the state or the defendant.
HB 2846 changes the age of a victim for which hearsay statements are permitted in a trial from younger than 12 years of age to younger than 14 years of age.
HB 3594 requires prosecutors, clerks and other officers representing the state in a county with a population less than 100,000 to promptly turn over all evidence that contains biological material to the Department of Public Safety when the evidence was used to prosecute and convict a defendant of homicide, sexual or assaultive offenses and the defendant was sentenced to 10 or more years in prison.
SB 595 requires a court to allow discovery of material that constitutes child pornography and requires that the material remain in the control of the court or state. The legislation also requires that the court make the material reasonably available to the defendant, the defendant’s attorney or expert witness hired by the defendant, but deny all requests to remove the material from the court’s custody or duplicate it in any way.
HB 4464 changes the default position of including the victim’s name and address in the judgment for restitution purposes to an alternative person or agency’s name and address who will forward the restitution to the victim. However, if the court specifically elects to have payments made directly to the crime victim, the name and permanent address of the victim will be included in the judgment.
SB 689 requires that a sex offender released on probation or deferred adjudication for a sexual offense, who used the Internet to commit the offense for which s/he is required to register or was assigned a numeric risk level of three (the highest level) have certain prohibitions placed on them.
The sex offender shall be prohibited from using the Internet to: access material that is obscene, access commercial social networking sites, communicate with any individual concerning sexual relations with a child younger than 17 years of age, or communicate with any individual the releasee knows is younger than 17 years of age. The parole panel can modify the condition relating to the prohibition of communicating with another individual the releasee knows is under the age of 17 if it interferes with the releasee’s ability to attend school, remain employed, or if the releasee is the parent or guardian of the individual.
HB 1372 amends the definition of victim to include a person who is the victim of human trafficking for the purposes of crime victims’ rights.
HB 2626 requires that a health care facility that provides services to sexual assault victims provide a victim of sexual assault a forensic medical exam if the victim arrived at the facility within 96 hours after the assault occurred even if the victim has not reported the assault to law enforcement. The victim is expressly not required to pay for the costs of the forensic exam, nor is the victim required to cooperate with law enforcement in regards to the investigation or prosecution of the assault. The Department of Public Safety will store and preserve the kits until the earlier of: 2 years or the date the victim or a representative of the victim consents to have the evidence released. DPS will pay the costs associated with the collection of the evidence and may be reimbursed for those costs from the Crime Victims Compensation Fund.
HB 4136 requires, upon motion and absent good cause to deny such motion, a court to seal the medical records of a child 13 years or younger who is a victim of murder, capital murder, manslaughter, aggravated kidnapping, indecency with a child, sexual assault, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, injury to a child, prohibited sexual conduct, aggravated robbery, sexual performance by a child or continuous sexual abuse of a young child. A motion may be filed by the court, an attorney representing the state, the defendant, parent or guardian of the victim, or the victim if the victim is no longer a child.
SB 689 restricts public access to telephone numbers or online identifiers of a registered sex offender, but requires the Department of Public Safety to provide, for law enforcement purposes, all pertinent information in the sex offender registry database, including private information, at the request of a peace officer, an employee of a local law enforcement authority or the attorney general.
HB 2153 requires the sex offender registration form to include the address or physical geographic location of the registrant’s current or intended future residence (rather than his or her “home address”).
HB 2153 also requires that a registrant report to local law enforcement within seven days of release to verify the information in the registration form. It also requires a registrant who is released from a penal institution but is not on parole or another form of supervision and does not move immediately to his or her permanent address to report to local law enforcement authorities within seven days of release to provide their temporary physical address or geographic location. Requires a registrant to report his or her temporary address or geographic location every 30 days until the location is the intended permanent location. No one can refuse or fail to provide a location on their registration form.
HB 689 adds the newly collected home, work or cell phone numbers of a registered sex offender to the list of information which local law enforcement should not provide to schools when a sex offender moves to the area.
HB 1041, known as Jenna’s law, requires school districts to adopt and implement policies that address sexual abuse of children to be included in the district improvement plan and any information handbook provided to students and parents. The policies must address methods for increasing teacher, student and parent awareness of issues regarding sexual abuse of children, including knowledge of warning signs indicating that a child may be a victim of sexual abuse, actions a child victim of sexual abuse should take to obtain assistance, and counseling options available to students affected by sexual abuse.
HB 3594 requires the Department of Public Safety to maintain a storage space for biological evidence from counties with less than 100,000 residents and authorizes, but does not require, the Department to preserve evidence connected to sex offenses.
HB 2932 creates Subchapter D-1, requiring the bureau of identification and records to establish and maintain a database to collect and disseminate information regarding DNA test results that may indicate additional crimes committed by a defendant who has been arrested or charged with a felony or misdemeanor. Subchapter D-1 requires that all information in the database be kept confidential and only made available when a criminal justice agency makes a proper request. However, it also allows defendants the opportunity to submit a request to determine if information about himself/herself is in the database, and allows for the opportunity to correct inaccurate information if it is deemed necessary.
SB 689 requires that a sex offender released on parole or mandatory supervision after serving a sentence for a sexual offense against a child, who used the Internet to commit the offense for which they are required to register or who was assigned a numeric risk level of three (the highest level), have certain prohibitions placed on them.
They shall be prohibited from using the Internet to access material that is obscene, access commercial social networking sites, communicate with any individual concerning sexual relations with a child younger than 17 years of age, or communicate with any individual the releasee knows is younger than 17 years of age. The parole panel can modify the condition relating to the prohibition of communicating with another individual the releasee knows is under the age of 17 if it interferes with the releasee’s ability to attend school, remain employed or if the releasee is the parent or guardian of the individual.
HB 2626 requires that the current information sheet provided to sexual assault victims before a forensic medical exam include a statement informing the victim that the Department of Public Safety will pay for the cost of the forensic exam and the evidence collection kit, or if the exam was requested by a law enforcement agency that the law enforcement agency will pay those costs.
HB 4009 requires the director of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission to establish a committee to evaluate alternatives to the juvenile justice system, such as government programs, faith-based programs and programs offered by nonprofit organizations, for children who are accused of engaging in acts of prostitution.
HB 549 creates an affirmative defense to prosecution for an offense of indecency with a child, improper relationship between an educator or student, sexual assault of a child under 17, and improper sexual activity with a person in custody if the actor was the spouse of the victim at the time of the offense. Formerly, these offenses required the prosecution to prove that the victim was “not the person’s spouse.” Now the burden is on the defendant to prove that a spousal relationship existed.
HB 2385 reorganizes the punishment ranges associated with incestuous conduct. All conduct prohibited under this section is punishable as a third degree felony, except for that between a person and that person’s ancestor (i.e., parent, grandparent) or descendant (i.e. child, grandchild), which is now a second degree felony.
HB 4009 creates a defense to prosecution for the offense of prostitution if the person engaged in the prostitution was a victim of human trafficking.
SB 83 allows a tenant to terminate a lease, vacate the dwelling and avoid liability for future rent and any other sums if the tenant is the victim, or a parent or guardian of a victim, of sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault or continuous sexual abuse of a child, and the offense took place during the preceding six-month period on the premises or any dwelling of the premises. Tenants wishing to terminate their lease must provide documentation of the sexual assault or sexual abuse from a licensed health care services provider who examined the victim, a licensed mental health services provider who evaluated the victim, a rape crisis center advocate who provided services to the victim or a copy of a sexual assault protective order.
SB 1616 requires the Texas Department of Transportation to offer sexual assault awareness specialty license plates that read “Speak Up. Speak Out.” The specialty license plates will cost 30 dollars, of which eight dollars will go to the Department for administrative fees, and the balance will be deposited into the sexual assault program fund.
2011
SB 43 provides that an employer of a mental health services provider is liable for damages if the employer failed to report sexual exploitation by the mental health services provider of a patient or former patient or take necessary steps to prevent sexual exploitation by the mental health service provider, regardless of whether the exploitation the employer knew about was directed toward the plaintiff or some other prior patient.
SB 24 adds trafficking in persons to the list of activities that constitute a common nuisance if known and tolerated by one who maintains the place where the activity occurs.
SB 407 requires the court to compel parents to attend court proceedings when their child has been charged with electronic transmission of certain visual material depicting a minor (“sexting”). In addition, if the court orders the defendant to attend and complete an educational program regarding sexting, the defendant or defendant’s parent must pay the costs of attending the educational program.
HB 649 removes the requirement that adult applicants for sexual assault protective orders prove they are subject of threats of further harm by the perpetrator (children were already exempt). It also removes the requirement that an applicant prove she is a subject of a threat of further harm by the perpetrator in order to be eligible for a lifetime sexual assault protective order.
HB 1721 provides that in a proceeding for a sexual assault protective order, a judge may admit as evidence a statement by a child younger than 14 concerning sexual abuse against the child if the judge determines the statement is reliable and either the child is available to testify or the judge determines it is important for the child’s welfare to substitute the statement for the child’s in-court testimony.
HB 253 changes the limitation period for an offense of bigamy to seven years from the date of the offense, or, if the person the defendant married or purported to marry was younger than 18 at the time of the offense, ten years from the person’s 18th birthday.
SB 578 provides that in proceedings in which children younger than 17 testify in any capacity other than as defendants, the court shall ensure the child understands the oath and the questions asked; ensure the testimony occurs at a time of day when the child is best able to understand the questions and undergo the proceedings without being traumatized; and prevent intimidation or harassment of the child by any party, including as appropriate rephrasing questions asked of the child.
SB 578 also gives judges discretion to allow a child witness to have a comforting item during the testimony or to be in close proximity of a support person.
SB 407 requires that material prohibited under Sec 43.631 Penal Code (sexting) or recorded interviews of child victims under 13 years old not be made publicly available.
SB 1616 requires that sexual assault examination kits and other biological evidence collected pursuant to a criminal investigation be preserved for at least 40 years, or until the defendant or convicted offender dies, completes a term of community supervision or deferred adjudication community supervision, completes a term of juvenile probation, completes a sentence, or is released on parole or juvenile probation.
SB 198 requires that if a judge places a defendant on community supervision for an offense of indecency with a child, or sexual assault, the court make an affirmative finding of fact if it determines that the victim was at least 15 and the defendant is not more than 4 years older, and the conviction is based solely on their ages.
HB 3 provides that a defendant with a previous final conviction for continuous sexual abuse of a child or young children, who is now charged with aggravated sexual assault, is not eligible for deferred adjudication if the offense is punishable by a sentence of life without parole.
SB 198 provides that in a hearing to consider a sex offender’s petition to be exempt from the sex offender registry, the court may consider testimony from the victim or a member of the victim’s family and/or testimony regarding the relationship between the victim and the petitioner.
HB 1942 gives school district boards of trustees authority to transfer students found to have engaged in bullying to different classrooms or campuses within the district. It also defines “bullying” and “harassment” for purposes of school district staff development, and requires the State Board of Education to adopt essential knowledge and skills for health curricula that address bullying.
SB 218 requires that if during an investigation by the Department of Family and Protective Services a child younger than 11 is found to have a sexually transmitted disease, the department appoint a special investigator and conduct an investigation.
SB 1636 requires law enforcement agencies that receive sexual assault evidence kits to submit the evidence to a public accredited crime laboratory within 30 days of receiving the evidence, and requires crime labs to complete its analysis of the evidence as soon as practicable. Law enforcement must compare the analyzed evidence with DNA profiles maintained in state databases and the CODIS database maintained by the FBI.
HB 1994 authorizes a county’s commissioners court or the governing body of a municipality to establish and offer a first offender prostitution prevention program, with the consent of the district or county attorney, to defendants who have been charged with solicitation of prostitution.
SB 488 requires any online dating website that provides services to residents of Texas to conspicuously disclose to its users whether it conducts criminal background checks on its users. If a company conducts criminal background checks, it must also include on its website: a statement of whether it excludes from dating services all users identified as having been convicted of a felony offense, an offense requiring registration as a sex offender, or an offense involving an affirmative finding of family violence; a statement of the number of years of members’ criminal histories are included in the background check; and a statement of the limitations of criminal background checks to identify all dangerous offenders. Regardless of whether a provider conducts background checks, SB 488 requires a general statement about online safety and identity theft, and measures to reduce the risk of harm.