By: Gervin-Hawkins H.B. No. 3301       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the punishment for the offense of injury to a child,   elderly individual, or disabled individual and creating the offense   of continuous injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled   individual.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 22.04, Penal Code, is amended by   amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (f-1) to read as   follows:          (f)  Except as provided by Subsection (f-1), an [An] offense   under Subsection (a)(3) or (a-1)(3) is a felony of the third degree   when the conduct is committed intentionally or knowingly, except   that an offense under Subsection (a)(3) is a felony of the second   degree when the conduct is committed intentionally or knowingly and   the victim is a disabled individual residing in a center, as defined   by Section 555.001, Health and Safety Code, or in a facility   licensed under Chapter 252, Health and Safety Code, and the actor is   an employee of the center or facility whose employment involved   providing direct care for the victim.  When the conduct is engaged   in recklessly, the offense is a state jail felony.          (f-1)  An offense under Subsection (a)(3) or (a-1)(3) is a   felony of the first degree if:                (1)  the conduct was committed intentionally or   knowingly; and                (2)  either:                      (A)  the victim of the offense was younger than   six years of age at the time the offense is committed; or                      (B)  it is shown on the trial of the offense that   the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense under   this section or Section 22.042.          SECTION 2.  Chapter 22, Penal Code, is amended by adding   Section 22.042 to read as follows:          Sec. 22.042.  CONTINUOUS INJURY TO A CHILD, ELDERLY   INDIVIDUAL, OR DISABLED INDIVIDUAL.  (a)  A person commits an   offense if, during a period that is 30 or more days but less than   five years in duration, the person engages two or more times in   conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 22.04 against one   or more victims.          (b)  If a jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury are   not required to agree unanimously on which specific conduct engaged   in by the defendant constituted an offense under Section 22.04 or on   which exact date the defendant engaged in that conduct.  The jury   must agree unanimously that the defendant, during a period that is   30 or more days but less than five years in duration, engaged in   conduct that constituted an offense under Section 22.04.          (c)  If the victim of an offense under Subsection (a) is the   same victim as a victim of an offense under Section 22.04, a   defendant may not be convicted of the offense under Section 22.04 in   the same criminal action as the offense under Subsection (a),   unless the offense under Section 22.04:                (1)  is charged in the alternative;                (2)  occurred outside the period in which the offense   alleged under Subsection (a) was committed; or                (3)  is considered by the trier of fact to be a lesser   included offense of the offense alleged under Subsection (a).          (d)  A defendant may not be charged with more than one count   under Subsection (a) if all of the conduct that constitutes an   offense under Section 22.04 is alleged to have been committed   against the same victim.          (e)  An offense under this section is a felony of the first   degree, except that the offense is a felony of the first degree   punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal   Justice for life or for any term of not more than 99 years or less   than 15 years if:                (1)  the conduct constituting at least one of the   offenses under Section 22.04 caused serious bodily injury or   serious mental deficiency, impairment, or injury to the victim; or                (2)  the actor used or exhibited a deadly weapon during   the commission of at least one of the offenses under Section 22.04.          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, 2017.