81R15993 GCB-D
 
  By: Farrar, Riddle, Coleman, Pierson, H.B. No. 3318
      Naishtat
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3318:
 
  By:  Kent C.S.H.B. No. 3318
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the punishment of certain parents for the murder of the
  parent's infant.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 19.02, Penal Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
  follows:
         (c)  Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (d) and
  (e), an offense under this section is a felony of the first degree.
         (e)  At the punishment stage of a trial in which a defendant
  has been found guilty of causing the death of a child to whom the
  defendant gave birth within the 12-month period preceding the
  child's death, the defendant may raise the issue as to whether the
  defendant caused the child's death because the defendant's judgment
  was impaired as a result of the effects of giving birth or the
  effects of lactation following the birth.  If the defendant proves
  the issue in the affirmative by a preponderance of the evidence, the
  offense is a state jail felony.
         SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies to a
  trial that commences on or after the effective date of this Act,
  regardless of whether the alleged offense was committed before, on,
  or after that date.  A trial that commenced before the effective
  date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the trial
  commenced, and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.