By: Deuell	S.B. No. 1416

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the determination of whether a use of force against
	another is justified.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subsection (b), Section 9.31, Penal Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(b)  The use of force against another is not justified:
	(1)  in response to verbal provocation alone;
	(2)  to resist an arrest or search that the actor knows
	is being made by a peace officer, or by a person acting in a peace
	officer's presence and at his direction, even though the arrest or
	search is unlawful, unless the resistance is justified under
	Subsection (c);
	(3)  if the actor consented to the exact force used or
	attempted by the other;
	(4)  if the actor provoked the other's use or attempted
	use of unlawful force, unless:
	(A)  the actor abandons the encounter, or clearly
	communicates to the other his intent to do so reasonably believing
	he cannot safely abandon the encounter; and
	(B)  the other nevertheless continues or attempts
	to use unlawful force against the actor; or
	(5)  if the actor sought an explanation from or
	discussion with the other person concerning the actor's differences
	with the other person while the actor was:
	(A)  carrying a weapon in violation of Section
	46.02; [or]
	(B)  possessing or transporting a weapon in
	violation of Section 46.05; or
	(C)  possessing a firearm in violation of Section
	46.04.
	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, 2013.