H.B. No. 2066
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to enhancing penalties for assaulting a family member by
  strangulation or suffocation.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 22.01, Penal Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (b) and (f) and adding Subsections (b-1) and
  (g) to read as follows:
         (b)  An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is a Class A
  misdemeanor, except that the offense is a felony of the third degree
  if the offense is committed against:
               (1)  a person the actor knows is a public servant while
  the public servant is lawfully discharging an official duty, or in
  retaliation or on account of an exercise of official power or
  performance of an official duty as a public servant;
               (2)  a person whose relationship to or association with
  the defendant is described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or
  71.005, Family Code, if:
                     (A)  it is shown on the trial of the offense that
  the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense under
  this chapter, Chapter 19, or Section 20.03, 20.04, or 21.11 against
  a person whose relationship to or association with the defendant is
  described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code; or
                     (B)  the offense is committed by intentionally,
  knowingly, or recklessly impeding the normal breathing or
  circulation of the blood of the person by applying pressure to the
  person's throat or neck or by blocking the person's nose or mouth;
               (3)  a person who contracts with government to perform
  a service in a facility as defined by Section 1.07(a)(14), Penal
  Code, or Section 51.02(13) or (14), Family Code, or an employee of
  that person:
                     (A)  while the person or employee is engaged in
  performing a service within the scope of the contract, if the actor
  knows the person or employee is authorized by government to provide
  the service;  or
                     (B)  in retaliation for or on account of the
  person's or employee's performance of a service within the scope of
  the contract;
               (4)  a person the actor knows is a security officer
  while the officer is performing a duty as a security officer; or
               (5)  a person the actor knows is emergency services
  personnel while the person is providing emergency services.
         (b-1)  Notwithstanding Subsection (b)(2), an offense under
  Subsection (a)(1) is a felony of the second degree if:
               (1)  the offense is committed against a person whose
  relationship to or association with the defendant is described by
  Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code;
               (2)  it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
  defendant has been previously convicted of an offense under this
  chapter, Chapter 19, or Section 20.03, 20.04, or 21.11 against a
  person whose relationship to or association with the defendant is
  described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code;
  and
               (3)  the offense is committed by intentionally,
  knowingly, or recklessly impeding the normal breathing or
  circulation of the blood of the person by applying pressure to the
  person's throat or neck or by blocking the person's nose or mouth.
         (f)  For the purposes of Subsections (b)(2)(A) and (b-1)(2)
  [Subsection (b)(2)]:
               (1)  a defendant has been previously convicted of an
  offense listed in those subsections [Subsection (b)(2)] committed
  against a person whose relationship to or association with the
  defendant is described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005,
  Family Code, if the defendant was adjudged guilty of the offense or
  entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in return for a grant of
  deferred adjudication, regardless of whether the sentence for the
  offense was ever imposed or whether the sentence was probated and
  the defendant was subsequently discharged from community
  supervision; and
               (2)  a conviction under the laws of another state for an
  offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the
  elements of an offense listed in those subsections [Subsection
  (b)(2)] is a conviction of the [an] offense listed [in Subsection
  (b)(2)].
         (g)  If conduct constituting an offense under this section
  also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the
  actor may be prosecuted under either section or both sections.
         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
  covered by the law in effect when 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 September 1, 2009.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2066 was passed by the House on April
  24, 2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 111, Nays 26, 1 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 2066 on May 25, 2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 141, Nays 1,
  2 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2066 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 21, 2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
  0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor