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Relating to the prosecution of the offense of sexual assault.
Expanding the circumstances for a criminal offense is expected to result in additional demands on the correctional resources of the State. The probable fiscal impact of implementing the bill is indeterminate due to the lack of data that would allow cases to be identified as nonconsensual as specified under the provisions of the bill. These data are necessary to identify those cases that would be eligible for prosecution as sexual assault from all other cases.
HB 302 would include three new circumstances that qualify as a lack of consent within the criminal offense of sexual assault: the actor knowing the other person is intoxicated by any substance such that the person is incapable of appraising the nature of the act; the actor knowing the other person has withdrawn consent and the actor continues to persist afterwards; and the actor is a caregiver hired to assist the other person and causes the person to submit by exploiting that person's dependency upon them.
Texas Action supports HB 302 because it would advance personal responsibility and individual liberty. Any sexual contact made without the consent of the other person ought to be included in the criminal offense of sexual assault. HB 302 would add actions clearly without the consent of the other person to the existing sexual assault law, thus making the offenders prosecutable.
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