Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40.

Present law provides that the offense of solicitation of a minor occurs when a person 18 years of age or older, by means of oral, written, or electronic communication; electronic mail; or internet services, directly or through another, intentionally commands, requests, hires, persuades, invites, or attempts to induce a person whom the person making the solicitation knows, or should know, is less than 18 years of age, or solicits a law enforcement officer posing as a minor, and whom the person making the solicitation reasonably believes to be less than 18 years of age, engages in conduct that, if completed, would constitute a violation by the soliciting adult of one or more of the following offenses: (1) Rape of a child; (2) Aggravated rape; (3) Rape; (4) Aggravated sexual battery; (5) Sexual battery by an authority figure; (6) Sexual battery; (7) Statutory rape; (8) Especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor; (9) Sexual activity involving a minor; (10) Trafficking for commercial sex acts; (11) Patronizing prostitution; (12) Promoting prostitution; or (13) Aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. This bill adds the offense of statutory rape by an authority figure to the list of qualifying criminal conduct above. Present law provides that in addition to the punishment authorized by the specific statute prohibiting the conduct, a person must receive a sentence of community supervision for life who commits certain violations of aggravated rape, rape, aggravated sexual battery, rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, attempts to commit the aforementioned, facilitates the commission of rape of a child or aggravated rape of a child, trafficking for commercial sex act, patronizing prostitution, or promoting prostitution. This bill adds the offense of continuous sexual abuse of a child to the list of qualifying criminal misconduct that is sentenced to community supervision for life in addition to any other statutorily imposed punishment. This bill applies to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2023. ON FEBRUARY 22, 2024, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 701, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to add offenses of continuous sexual abuse of a child committed on or after July 1, 2024, to the list of qualifying criminal misconduct that is sentenced to community supervision for life in addition to any other statutorily imposed punishment.