89R4992 JRR-D
	By: Campos	H.B. No. 1572

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to mail theft and certain criminal offenses committed
	against an employee or contractor of a common carrier or delivery
	service delivering mail; increasing criminal penalties.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Sections 22.01(b) and (d), Penal Code, are
	amended to read as follows:
	(b)  An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is a Class A
	misdemeanor, except that the offense is a felony of the third degree
	if the offense is committed against:
	(1)  a person the actor knows is a public servant while
	the public servant is lawfully discharging an official duty, or in
	retaliation or on account of an exercise of official power or
	performance of an official duty as a public servant;
	(2)  a person whose relationship to or association with
	the defendant is described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or
	71.005, Family Code, if:
	(A)  it is shown on the trial of the offense that
	the defendant has been previously convicted of an offense that was
	committed:
	(i)  against a person whose relationship to
	or association with the defendant is described by Section
	71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code; and
	(ii)  under:
	(a)  this chapter, Chapter 19, or
	Section 20.03, 20.04, 21.11, or 25.11;
	(b)  Section 25.07, if the applicable
	violation was based on the commission of family violence as
	described by Subsection (a)(1) of that section; or
	(c)  Section 25.072, if any of the
	applicable violations were based on the commission of family
	violence as described by Section 25.07(a)(1); or
	(B)  the offense is committed by intentionally,
	knowingly, or recklessly impeding the normal breathing or
	circulation of the blood of the person by applying pressure to the
	person's throat or neck or by blocking the person's nose or mouth;
	(3)  a person who contracts with government to perform
	a service in a facility described by Section 1.07(a)(14), Penal
	Code, or Section 51.02(13) or (14), Family Code, or an employee of
	that person:
	(A)  while the person or employee is engaged in
	performing a service within the scope of the contract, if the actor
	knows the person or employee is authorized by government to provide
	the service; or
	(B)  in retaliation for or on account of the
	person's or employee's performance of a service within the scope of
	the contract;
	(4)  a person the actor knows is a security officer
	while the officer is performing a duty as a security officer;
	(5)  a person the actor knows is emergency services
	personnel while the person is providing emergency services;
	(6)  a person the actor knows is a process server while
	the person is performing a duty as a process server;
	(7)  a person the actor knows is an employee or
	contractor of a common carrier or delivery service while the person
	is performing a duty relating to the delivery of mail, as defined by
	Section 31.20;
	(8)  a pregnant individual to force the individual to
	have an abortion;
	(9) [(8)]  a person the actor knows is pregnant at the
	time of the offense; or
	(10) [(9)]  a person the actor knows is hospital
	personnel while the person is located on hospital property,
	including all land and buildings owned or leased by the hospital.
	(d)  For purposes of Subsection (b), the actor is presumed to
	have known the person assaulted was a public servant, a security
	officer, [or] emergency services personnel, or an employee or
	contractor of a common carrier or delivery service if the person was
	wearing a distinctive uniform or badge indicating the person's
	employment as a public servant or status as a security officer, [or]
	emergency services personnel, or an employee or contractor of a
	common carrier or delivery service.
	SECTION 2.  Sections 22.02(b) and (c), Penal Code, are
	amended to read as follows:
	(b)  An offense under this section is a felony of the second
	degree, except that the offense is a felony of the first degree if:
	(1)  the actor uses a deadly weapon during the
	commission of the assault and causes:
	(A)  serious bodily injury to a person whose
	relationship to or association with the defendant is described by
	Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code; or
	(B)  a traumatic brain or spine injury to another
	that results in a persistent vegetative state or irreversible
	paralysis;
	(2)  regardless of whether the offense is committed
	under Subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2), the offense is committed:
	(A)  by a public servant acting under color of the
	servant's office or employment;
	(B)  against a person the actor knows is a public
	servant while the public servant is lawfully discharging an
	official duty, or in retaliation or on account of an exercise of
	official power or performance of an official duty as a public
	servant;
	(C)  in retaliation against or on account of the
	service of another as a witness, prospective witness, informant, or
	person who has reported the occurrence of a crime;
	(D)  against a person the actor knows is a process
	server while the person is performing a duty as a process server;
	[or]
	(E)  against a person the actor knows is a
	security officer while the officer is performing a duty as a
	security officer; or
	(F)  against a person the actor knows is an
	employee or contractor of a common carrier or delivery service
	while the person is performing a duty relating to the delivery of
	mail, as defined by Section 31.20;
	(3)  the actor is in a motor vehicle, as defined by
	Section 501.002, Transportation Code, and:
	(A)  knowingly discharges a firearm at or in the
	direction of a habitation, building, or vehicle;
	(B)  is reckless as to whether the habitation,
	building, or vehicle is occupied; and
	(C)  in discharging the firearm, causes serious
	bodily injury to any person; or
	(4)  the actor commits the assault as part of a mass
	shooting.
	(c)  The actor is presumed to have known the person assaulted
	was a public servant, [or] a security officer, or an employee or
	contractor of a common carrier or delivery service if the person was
	wearing a distinctive uniform or badge indicating the person's
	employment as a public servant or status as a security officer or an
	employee or contractor of a common carrier or delivery service.
	SECTION 3.  Section 31.20, Penal Code, is amended by adding
	Subsection (b-1) and amending Subsections (c), (d), and (e) to read
	as follows:
	(b-1)  For purposes of Subsection (b), an actor in possession
	of mail that, in the aggregate, is addressed to at least five
	persons other than the actor is presumed to have engaged in conduct
	constituting an offense under that subsection unless the actor
	possesses the mail in the course of the person's duties as an
	employee or contractor of a common carrier or delivery service.
	(c)  Except as provided by Subsections (d) and (e), an
	offense under this section is:
	(1)  a state jail felony [Class A misdemeanor] if the
	mail is appropriated from fewer than 10 addressees;
	(2)  a [state jail] felony of the third degree if the
	mail is appropriated from at least 10 but fewer than 30 addressees;
	or
	(3)  a felony of the second [third] degree if the mail
	is appropriated from 30 or more addressees.
	(d)  If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
	section that the appropriated mail contained an item of identifying
	information and the actor committed the offense with the intent to
	facilitate an offense under Section 32.51, an offense under this
	section is:
	(1)  [a state jail felony if the mail is appropriated
	from fewer than 10 addressees;
	[(2)]  a felony of the third degree if the mail is
	appropriated from [at least 10 but] fewer than 20 addressees;
	(2) [(3)]  a felony of the second degree if the mail is
	appropriated from at least 20 but fewer than 50 addressees; or
	(3) [(4)]  a felony of the first degree if the mail is
	appropriated from 50 or more addressees.
	(e)  An offense described for purposes of punishment by
	Subsection (d)(1)[, (2),] or (2) [(3)] is increased to the next
	higher category of offense if it is shown on the trial of the
	offense that at the time of the offense the actor knew or had reason
	to believe that an addressee from whom the actor appropriated mail
	was a disabled individual or an elderly individual.
	SECTION 4.  The changes in law made by this Act apply 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 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.