HB2895 - Relating to the legal justification for using force or deadly force in response to the commission or attempted commission of a violent felony.

  89R10843 JRR-F     By: Patterson H.B. No. 2895       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the legal justification for using force or deadly force   in response to the commission or attempted commission of a violent   felony.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 9.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding   Subdivision (6) to read as follows:                 (6)     "Violent felony" means a felony offense under   state law, federal law, or the laws of a federally recognized Indian   tribe that has as an element the intentional or knowing use,   attempted use, or threatened use of force or deadly force against   any person.          SECTION 2.  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 , or another violent   felony ;                (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 9.32(a), Penal Code, is 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)  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 , or another violent   felony .          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.