Senate approves bill elevating penalties when offenders wear metal or body armor during certain felony offenses
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Summary
House Bill 108, which the Senate passed after suspending rules, creates mandatory elevation of penalty classification when a defendant is convicted of committing certain felonies while wearing metal or body armor; sponsors said the measure targets misuse of body armor during violent crimes, not lawful ownership.
AUSTIN, Texas — The Senate on Monday approved House Bill 108, a measure that increases the penalty classification for certain offenses when the offender is found to have used metal or body armor while committing those crimes.
Senator Hinojosa, the floor mover, said the bill preserves lawful ownership of body armor by civilians while targeting “those who exploit this legal protection during the commission of violent crimes.” On the floor, Hinojosa described the bill’s core mechanism: “House Bill 108 establishes an affirmative binding process for the use of metal or body armor ... mandating an automatic elevation of the offense to the next highest penalty classification upon conviction.”
The sponsor told colleagues the measure does not bar law-abiding Texans from owning or purchasing body armor but strengthens consequences for misuse that endangers public safety, adding it would address incidents in which assailants used protective gear to resist law enforcement or inflict greater harm. The floor sequence included the steps to suspend Senate rules to expedite the measure and culminated in a final passage vote; the transcript records the bill as finally passed after the roll-call sequence.
Discussion versus action
The transcript records floor explanation and the sponsor’s framing of the bill as focused on public safety and accountability for violent criminals who wear protective gear during the commission of felony offenses. The record shows procedural motions to suspend rules and final passage votes; the transcript does not include extended debate on constitutional challenges or enforcement logistics.
What happens next
With final passage recorded on the Senate floor, the bill will proceed through enrollment and transmittal to the governor. The transcript does not provide an effective date or specify changes to sentencing guidelines beyond elevating an offense to the next-higher penalty classification on conviction when the statute’s conditions are met.