Sex offenders, burglars and other criminals will face tough new penalties under dozens of new laws passed by the 80th Texas Legislature, many of those who took effect on September 1.

A significant new criminal law passed last session was House Bill 8, which is one of the nation’s toughest versions of “Jessica’s Law”. This law tightens penalties for child molesters and provides district attorneys with additional tools to prosecute child sex crimes. HB 8 creates an offense, continuous sexual abuse of a young child or children, which it makes a first-degree felony punishable by 25 years to life in prison.

Under certain circumstances, the bill also gives prosecutors the ability to pursue life without parole or the death penalty for child predators who commit a second aggravated sexual assault against a child under 14. This new law also sets a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years to life for predators who commit aggravated sexual assault against a victim who is younger than six or, under certain circumstances, if the victim is younger than 14.

Texas’ version of Jessica’s Law eliminates the statute of limitations in certain sexual assault cases involving children. In other cases, the new law doubles the statute of limitations from 10 years past the victim’s 18th birthday to 20 years past the victim’s 18th birthday. The bill also requires lifetime Global Position System (GPS) monitoring for sexually violent predators who are civilly committed.

The Office of the Attorney General stands ready to provide prosecutorial assistance to county and district attorneys who need help with Jessica’s Law prosecutions. Our Fugitive and Cyber Crimes units have arrested more than 600 sex predators since 2003, so we understand the monumental effort required to take these criminals off the street. We will do everything in our power to assist local authorities with this critical mission.

Another new law taking effect this month addresses the use of new technology to sexually solicit children. House Bill 401 adds text messaging and other electronic message services to the means by which an Internet predator can be convicted on online solicitation of a minor, regardless of the age of the child.

State lawmakers also increased Texans’ ability to protect themselves and their property. Under Senate Bill 378, the revised “castle law”, Texans have greater control over their property and no longer have to prove that they tried to retreat before using force against an attack that occurs in their home, vehicle or place of business.

Under House Bill 1887, first and second offenses for burglary of a motor vehicle remain Class A misdemeanors. However, community supervision is now required for the first offense, and a minimum of six months in county jail is required for the second offense. Criminals who burglarize a vehicle three times face a felony and state jail time.

The legislation also puts more focus on automobile burglary prevention through education. The law expanded the scope and mission of the successful Automobile Theft Authority, which now becomes the Auto Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority.

More than 1,200 bills were passed during the 80th legislative session. For more complete information about one of the bills highlighted in this article or for details on other legislation, access the Texas Capitol Web site at www.capitol.state.tx.us. The enrolled version of the bill is the version that was actually passed.