Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of indecent assault against a disabled or elderly individual, the official text

H.B. No. 2593

AN ACT

relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of

indecent assault against a disabled or elderly individual.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Sections 22.012(b) and (d), Penal Code, are

amended to read as follows:

(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,

except that the offense is:

(1) a state jail felony if it is shown on the trial of

the offense that:

(A) the defendant has been previously convicted

of an offense under this section, other than an offense punishable

under Paragraph (B); or

(B) the defendant is a health care services

provider or a mental health services provider and the act is:

(i) committed during the course of

providing a treatment or service to the victim; and

(ii) beyond the scope of generally accepted

practices for the treatment or service; [or]

(2) a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the

trial of the offense that the defendant has been previously

convicted of an offense under this section that is punishable under

Subdivision (1)(B); or

(3) a felony of the second degree if the victim is a

disabled individual or an elderly individual.

(d) In this section:

(1) "Disabled individual" and "elderly individual"

have the meanings assigned by Section 22.04.

(2) "Health [, "health] care services provider" and

"mental health services provider" have the meanings assigned by

Section 22.011.

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.

______________________________
______________________________

President of the Senate
Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 2593 was passed by the House on May

16, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 124, Nays 0, 2 present, not

voting.

______________________________

Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 2593 was passed by the Senate on May

26, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.

______________________________

Secretary of the Senate

APPROVED: _____________________

Date

_____________________

Governor