89R4447 MEW-D     By: Shaheen H.B. No. 2181       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to increasing the criminal penalty for certain conduct   constituting the offense of solicitation of prostitution.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 43.021(b), Penal Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (b)  An offense under Subsection (a) is a state jail felony,   except that the offense is:                (1)  a felony of the third degree if:                      (A)  the actor has previously been convicted of an   offense under Subsection (a) or under Section 43.02(b), as that law   existed before September 1, 2021; or                      (B)  the person to whom the actor offers or agrees   to pay the fee for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct:                            (i)  is engaging in the sexual conduct as a   victim of an offense under Section 20A.02(a)(3), (4), (7), or (8),   regardless of whether the actor knows the person is a victim at the   time of the offense; and                            (ii)  is not a person described by   Subdivision (2)(A), (B), or (C); or                (2)  a felony of the second degree if the person to whom   the actor offers or agrees to pay the fee for the purpose of   engaging in sexual conduct is:                      (A)  younger than 18 years of age, regardless of   whether the actor knows the age of the person at the time of the   offense;                      (B)  represented to the actor as being younger   than 18 years of age; or                      (C)  believed by the actor to be younger than 18   years of age.          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   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 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.