By: Pena, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Williams) H.B. No. 2482
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 28, 2011;
April 28, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on
Criminal Justice; May 12, 2011, reported favorably by the
following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 12, 2011, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of and punishment for certain offenses
involving theft.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 31.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subdivisions (11) through (14) to read as follows:
(11) "Retail merchandise" means one or more items of
tangible personal property displayed, held, stored, or offered for
sale in a retail establishment.
(12) "Retail theft detector" means an electrical,
mechanical, electronic, or magnetic device used to prevent or
detect shoplifting and includes any article or component part
essential to the proper operation of the device.
(13) "Shielding or deactivation instrument" means any
item or tool designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of
preventing the detection of stolen merchandise by a retail theft
detector. The term includes a metal-lined or foil-lined shopping
bag and any item used to remove a security tag affixed to retail
merchandise.
(14) "Fire exit alarm" has the meaning assigned by
Section 793.001, Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 2. Section 31.03(f), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(f) An offense described for purposes of punishment by
Subsections (e)(1)-(6) is increased to the next higher category of
offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that:
(1) the actor was a public servant at the time of the
offense and the property appropriated came into the actor's
custody, possession, or control by virtue of his status as a public
servant;
(2) the actor was in a contractual relationship with
government at the time of the offense and the property appropriated
came into the actor's custody, possession, or control by virtue of
the contractual relationship;
(3) the owner of the property appropriated was at the
time of the offense:
(A) an elderly individual; or
(B) a nonprofit organization; [or]
(4) the actor was a Medicare provider in a contractual
relationship with the federal government at the time of the offense
and the property appropriated came into the actor's custody,
possession, or control by virtue of the contractual relationship;
or
(5) during the commission of the offense, the actor
intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly:
(A) caused a fire exit alarm to sound or
otherwise become activated;
(B) deactivated or otherwise prevented a fire
exit alarm or retail theft detector from sounding; or
(C) used a shielding or deactivation instrument
to prevent or attempt to prevent detection of the offense by a
retail theft detector.
SECTION 3. Sections 31.16(b), (c), and (d), Penal Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
conducts, promotes, or facilitates an activity in which the person
receives, possesses, conceals, stores, barters, sells, or disposes
of [a total value of not less than $1,500 of]:
(1) stolen retail merchandise; or
(2) merchandise explicitly represented to the person
as being stolen retail merchandise.
(c) An offense under this section is:
(1) a Class B misdemeanor if the total value of the
merchandise involved in the activity is less than $50;
(2) a Class A misdemeanor if the total value of the
merchandise involved in the activity is $50 or more but less than
$500;
(3) a state jail felony if the total value of the
merchandise involved in the activity is $500 [$1,500] or more but
less than $1,500 [$20,000];
(4) [(2)] a felony of the third degree if the total
value of the merchandise involved in the activity is $1,500
[$20,000] or more but less than $20,000 [$100,000];
(5) [(3)] a felony of the second degree if the total
value of the merchandise involved in the activity is $20,000
[$100,000] or more but less than $100,000 [$200,000]; or
(6) [(4)] a felony of the first degree if the total
value of the merchandise involved in the activity is $100,000
[$200,000] or more.
(d) An offense described for purposes of punishment by
Subsections (c)(1)-(5) [(c)(1)-(3)] is increased to the next higher
category of offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that:
(1) the person organized, supervised, financed, or
managed one or more other persons engaged in an activity described
by Subsection (b); or
(2) during the commission of the offense, a person
engaged in an activity described by Subsection (b) intentionally,
knowingly, or recklessly:
(A) caused a fire exit alarm to sound or
otherwise become activated;
(B) deactivated or otherwise prevented a fire
exit alarm or retail theft detector from sounding; or
(C) used a shielding or deactivation instrument
to prevent or attempt to prevent detection of the offense by a
retail theft detector.
SECTION 4. Sections 31.15(a) and 31.16(a) and (e), Penal
Code, are repealed.
SECTION 5. 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 when 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 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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