82R5105 MAW-F
By: Williams S.B. No. 388
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the offense of organized retail theft.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 31.16, Penal Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 31.16. ORGANIZED RETAIL THEFT. (a) In this section:
(1) "Boost" means to commit an offense under Section
31.03 with respect to retail merchandise.
(2) "Fire exit alarm" has the meaning assigned by
Section 793.001, Health and Safety Code.
(3) "Retail[, "retail] merchandise" means one or more
items of tangible personal property displayed, held, stored, or
offered for sale in a retail establishment.
(4) "Retail theft detector" and "shielding or
deactivation instrument" have the meanings assigned by Section
31.15.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) alone or with the aid or assistance of another
person, and pursuant to one scheme or continuing course of conduct,
boosts:
(A) one or more items of retail merchandise:
(i) from more than one retail
establishment; or
(ii) from the same retail establishment on
more than one occasion; or
(B) more than one of the same or similar items of
retail merchandise from a single retail establishment on a single
occasion; or
(2) 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]:
(A) [(1)] stolen retail merchandise; or
(B) [(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 $500;
(2) a Class A misdemeanor if the total value of the
merchandise involved in the activity is $500 or more but less than
$1,500;
(3) a state jail felony if the total value of the
merchandise involved in the activity is $1,500 or more but less than
$20,000;
(4) [(2)] a felony of the third degree if the total
value of the merchandise involved in the activity is $20,000 or more
but less than $100,000;
(5) [(3)] a felony of the second degree if the total
value of the merchandise involved in the activity is $100,000 or
more but less than $200,000; or
(6) [(4)] a felony of the first degree if the total
value of the merchandise involved in the activity is $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
the person organized, supervised, financed, or managed one or more
other persons engaged in an activity described by Subsection (b).
(e) For the purposes of punishment, an offense under this
section or an offense described by Section 31.03(e)(1) or (2) is
increased to the next highest category of offense if it is shown at
the trial of the offense that the defendant, during [with the intent
that a distraction from] the commission of the offense [be
created], intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly:
(1) caused a fire exit [an] alarm to sound or otherwise
become activated;
(2) deactivated or otherwise prevented a fire exit
alarm from sounding; or
(3) used a shielding or deactivation instrument to
prevent or attempt to prevent detection of the offense by a retail
theft detector [during the commission of the offense].
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
governed by the law in effect on the date 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.