HB 5379

relating to increasing the punishment for certain intoxication
offenses and creating the criminal offense of continuous driving
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1.  Section 49.045(b), Penal Code, is amended to
(b)  Except as provided by Section 49.09, an [An] offense
under this section is a state jail felony.
SECTION 2.  Section 49.09, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) and adding Subsection (b-5) to
(b-1)  An offense under Section 49.07 is:
(1)  a felony of the second degree if it is shown on the
trial of the offense that the person:
(A)  caused serious bodily injury to a firefighter
or emergency medical services personnel while in the actual
discharge of an official duty; or
(B)  has previously been convicted of an offense
under Section 49.04, 49.045, 49.05, 49.06, 49.061, 49.065, 49.07,
(2)  a felony of the first degree if it is shown on the
trial of the offense that the person caused serious bodily injury to
a peace officer or judge while the officer or judge was in the
actual discharge of an official duty.
(b-2)  An offense under Section 49.08 is a felony of the
first degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
(1)  caused the death of a person described by
(2)  has previously been convicted of an offense under
Section 49.04, 49.045, 49.05, 49.06, 49.061, 49.065, 49.07, or
(b-5)  An offense under Section 49.045 is a felony of the
second degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
person has previously been convicted of an offense under Section
49.04, 49.045, 49.05, 49.06, 49.061, 49.065, 49.07, or 49.08.
SECTION 3.  Chapter 49, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Section 49.095 to read as follows:
Sec. 49.095.  CONTINUOUS DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED.  (a)  A
person commits an offense if, during a period that is 12 months or
less in duration, the person engages two or more times in conduct
that constitutes an offense under Section 49.04.
(b)  If a jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury are
not required to agree unanimously on which specific conduct engaged
in by the defendant constituted an offense under Section 49.04, the
exact date on which that conduct occurred, or the county in which
each instance of the conduct occurred.  The jury must agree
unanimously that the defendant, during a period that is 12 months or
less in duration, engaged two or more times in conduct that
constitutes an offense under Section 49.04.
(c)  The defendant may not be convicted in the same criminal
action of another offense an element of which is any conduct that is
alleged as an element of the offense under Subsection (a) unless the
(1)  is charged in the alternative;
(2)  occurred outside the period in which the offense
alleged under Subsection (a) was committed; or
(3)  is considered by the trier of fact to be a lesser
included offense of the offense alleged under Subsection (a).
(d)  A defendant may not be charged with more than one count
under Subsection (a) for conduct occurring during the same period
(e)  An offense under this section is a felony of the third
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.