By: Williams S.B. No. 158
(In the Senate - Filed November 8, 2010; January 31, 2011,
read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
March 28, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 7,
Nays 0; March 28, 2011, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the fraudulent obtaining of a controlled substance from
a practitioner; providing a penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 481.129, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsections (a-1) and (d-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person, with intent
to obtain a controlled substance or combination of controlled
substances that is not medically necessary for the person or an
amount of a controlled substance or substances that is not
medically necessary for the person, obtains or attempts to obtain
from a practitioner a controlled substance or a prescription for a
controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery,
deception, subterfuge, or concealment of a material fact. For
purposes of this subsection, a material fact includes whether the
person has an existing prescription for a controlled substance
issued for the same period of time by another practitioner.
(d-1) An offense under Subsection (a-1) is:
(1) a felony of the second degree if any controlled
substance that is the subject of the offense is listed in Schedule I
or II;
(2) a felony of the third degree if any controlled
substance that is the subject of the offense is listed in Schedule
III or IV; and
(3) a Class A misdemeanor if any controlled substance
that is the subject of the offense is listed in Schedule V.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies 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
covered 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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