BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2000

By: Ashby

Criminal Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Audrii Cunningham, an 11-year-old resident of Livingston, Texas, was raped and murdered by Don McDougal in February 2024. USA Today reported that McDougal had a lengthy criminal record, including past charges of enticing a child in 2007, for which he pled no contest and was sentenced to two years in prison. The conduct that resulted in those charges would now fall under the offense of child grooming, which was created by S.B. 1527 in the 88th Regular Session and did not exist at the time McDougal was convicted.

When the offense of child grooming was established, it was not added to the list of offenses that trigger required registration by the actor as a sex offender. C.S.H.B. 2000, which is named "Audrii's Law" in Audrii Cunningham's honor, adds child grooming to that list of offenses.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2000 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to include among the offenses for which a reportable conviction or adjudication requires a person to register under the sex offender registration program the offense of child grooming or a violation of the laws of another state, federal law, the laws of a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice for or based on the violation of an offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements of child grooming that does not result in a deferred adjudication.

C.S.H.B. 2000 applies only to an offense committed on or after the bill's effective date. An offense committed before the bill's effective date 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 these purposes, an offense was committed before the bill's effective date if any element of the offense occurred before that date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 2000 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes a provision absent from the introduced that authorizes the citation of the bill as Audrii's Law.