85R4445 MAW-D     By: Anchia H.B. No. 987       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to use of force or deadly force in defense of a person.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 9.31(a), Penal Code, is amended to read   as follows:          (a)  Except as provided in Subsection (b), a person is   justified in using force against another when and to the degree the   actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to   protect the actor against the other's use or attempted use of   unlawful force.  [The actor's belief that the force was immediately   necessary as described by this subsection is presumed to be   reasonable if the actor:                [(1)     knew or had reason to believe that the person   against whom the force was used:                      [(A)     unlawfully and with force entered, or was   attempting to enter unlawfully and with force, the actor's occupied   habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment;                      [(B)     unlawfully and with force removed, or was   attempting to remove unlawfully and with force, the actor from the   actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment; or                      [(C)     was committing or attempting to commit   aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual   assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery;                [(2)     did not provoke the person against whom the force   was used; and                [(3)     was not otherwise engaged in criminal activity,   other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or   ordinance regulating traffic at the time the force was used.]          SECTION 2.  Sections 9.32(a) and (b), Penal Code, are   amended to read as follows:          (a)  A person is justified in using deadly force against   another:                (1)  if the actor would be justified in using force   against the other under Section 9.31; [and]                (2)  if a reasonable person in the actor's situation   would not have retreated; and                (3)  when and to the degree the actor reasonably   believes the deadly force is immediately necessary:                      (A)  to protect the actor against the other's use   or attempted use of unlawful deadly force; or                      (B)  to prevent the other's imminent commission of   aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual   assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery.          (b)  The requirement imposed by [actor's belief under]   Subsection (a)(2) does not apply to an actor who uses deadly force   against a person who at the time of the use of deadly force is   committing an offense involving the unlawful entry into the   habitation of the actor [that the deadly force was immediately   necessary as described by that subdivision is presumed to be   reasonable if the actor:                [(1)     knew or had reason to believe that the person   against whom the deadly force was used:                      [(A)     unlawfully and with force entered, or was   attempting to enter unlawfully and with force, the actor's occupied   habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment;                      [(B)     unlawfully and with force removed, or was   attempting to remove unlawfully and with force, the actor from the   actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment; or                      [(C)     was committing or attempting to commit an   offense described by Subsection (a)(2)(B);                [(2)     did not provoke the person against whom the force   was used; and                [(3)     was not otherwise engaged in criminal activity,   other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or   ordinance regulating traffic at the time the force was used].          SECTION 3.  Section 83.001, Civil Practice and Remedies   Code, is amended to read as follows:          Sec. 83.001.  AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE [CIVIL IMMUNITY]. It is   an affirmative defense to a civil action for damages for personal   injury or death that the [A] defendant, at the time the cause of   action arose, was justified in using [who uses force or] deadly   force under Section 9.32, Penal Code, against a person who at the   time of the [that is justified under Chapter 9, Penal Code, is   immune from civil liability for personal injury or death that   results from the defendant's] use of [force or] deadly force was   committing an offense involving the unlawful entry into the   habitation of the defendant [, as applicable].          SECTION 4.  Sections 9.01(5), 9.31(e) and (f), and 9.32(c)   and (d), Penal Code, are repealed.          SECTION 5.  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 6.  Section 83.001, Civil Practice and Remedies   Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that   accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. A cause of   action that accrues before the effective date of this Act is   governed by the law applicable to the cause of action immediately   before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in   effect for that purpose.          SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.