TITLE: Relating to increasing the punishment for an offense involving the operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated in which the actor causes bodily injury to another.

SUMMARY: Relating to increasing the punishment for an offense involving the operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated in which the actor causes bodily injury to another.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to increasing the punishment for an offense involving the operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated in which the actor causes bodily injury to another. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 49.04, Penal Code, is amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (e) to read as follows: (b) Except as provided by Subsections (c),[and] (d),and (e), and Section 49.09, an offense under this section is a Class Bmisdemeanor, with a minimum term of confinement of 72 hours. (e) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this section that the person caused bodily injury to another as a result of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, the offense is a Class A misdemeanor. SECTION 2. Section 49.09, Penal Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to read as follows: (a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), (a-2), or (b), an offense under Section 49.04, 49.05, 49.06, or 49.065 is a Class A misdemeanor, with a minimum term of confinement of 30 days, if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person has previously been convicted one time of an offense relating to the operating of a motor vehicle while intoxicated, an offense of operating an aircraft while intoxicated, an offense of operating a watercraft while intoxicated, or an offense of operating or assembling an amusement ride while intoxicated. (a-1) Except as provided by Subsection (a-2) or (b), an offense under Section 49.04 is a Class A misdemeanor, with a minimum term of confinement of 180 days, if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person: (1) caused bodily injury to another as a result of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated; and (2) has previously been convicted of an offense under Section 49.04 punishable under Subsection (e) of that section. (a-2) Except as provided by Subsection (b), an offense under Section 49.04 punishable under Subsection (e) of that section is a state jail felony if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person caused bodily injury to a peace officer, a firefighter, or emergency medical services personnel while in the actual discharge of an official duty. SECTION 3. 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.