Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB4595 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R12285 SLB-D
2	2	By: Eiland H.B. No. 4595
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 4595:
4	4	By: McCall C.S.H.B. No. 4595
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to responsibility and criminal penalties for certain
10	10	violations committed by commercial oyster boat crews.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 76.001, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
13	13	amended to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 76.001. DEFINITIONS [NATURAL OYSTER BED]. In this
15	15	chapter:
16	16	(1) "Barrel of oysters" means three boxes of oysters
17	17	in the shell or two gallons of shucked oysters without shells. The
18	18	dimensions of a box are 10 inches by 20 inches by 13-1/2 inches. In
19	19	filling a box for measurement, the oysters may not be piled more
20	20	than 2-1/2 inches above the height of the box at the center.
21	21	(2) "Natural [(a) A natural] oyster bed" means an
22	22	area where [exists when] at least five barrels of oysters are found
23	23	within 2,500 square feet of any position on a reef or bed.
24	24	(3) "Open season" means a period during which it is
25	25	lawful to take oysters.
26	26	[(b) In this section, a barrel of oysters is equal to three
27	27	boxes of oysters in the shell. The dimensions of a box are 10 inches
28	28	by 20 inches by 13-1/2 inches. In filling a box for measurement,
29	29	the oysters may not be piled more than 2-1/2 inches above the height
30	30	of the box at the center. Two gallons of shucked oysters without
31	31	shells equals one barrel of oysters in the shell.]
32	32	SECTION 2. Section 76.116(a), Parks and Wildlife Code, is
33	33	amended to read as follows:
34	34	(a) There is no open season for taking oysters from areas
35	35	closed by the [Texas] Department of State Health Services.
36	36	SECTION 3. Section 76.118, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
37	37	amended by amending Subsections (b), (c), and (e) and adding
38	38	Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:
39	39	(b) A person who violates Section 76.101, 76.107, or
40	40	76.109[, or 76.116 of this code] or a regulation of the commission
41	41	issued under one of those sections commits an offense that is a
42	42	Class B Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor.
43	43	(c) A person who violates Section 76.116, or at the same
44	44	time violates Sections [Section] 76.109 and [either Section]
45	45	76.116, [or Section 76.205 of this code] commits an offense that is
46	46	a Class A Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor.
47	47	(e) If it is shown at the trial of a defendant for a
48	48	violation of Section 76.101, 76.107, or 76.109[, or 76.116 of this
49	49	code] that the defendant has been convicted once within five years
50	50	before the trial date of a violation of Section 76.101, 76.107, or
51	51	76.109, [or 76.116 of this code,] the defendant is guilty of a Class
52	52	A Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor.
53	53	(e-1) If it is shown at the trial of a defendant for a
54	54	violation of Section 76.116 that the defendant has been convicted
55	55	once within five years before the trial date of a violation of
56	56	Section 76.116, the defendant is guilty of a Parks and Wildlife Code
57	57	state jail felony.
58	58	SECTION 4. Section 76.119(a), Parks and Wildlife Code, is
59	59	amended to read as follows:
60	60	(a) If a vessel licensed as a commercial oyster boat is
61	61	involved in a violation of this chapter, the captain of the vessel
62	62	licensed as a commercial oyster boat is primarily responsible for
63	63	the violation. A member of the crew of a vessel licensed as a
64	64	commercial oyster boat is not guilty of a violation unless the
65	65	member of the crew committed the violation against the captain's
66	66	orders, except for a violation of Section 76.109 or 76.116 [of this
67	67	subchapter], in which case each person on the vessel is responsible
68	68	for the violation.
69	69	SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies only
70	70	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
71	71	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
72	72	covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed. For
73	73	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
74	74	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
75	75	before that date.
76	76	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.