83R1642 ADM-D
By: King of Parker H.B. No. 412
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the punishment for a false affiliation with a
charitable organization or a false claim of a charitable purpose in
the course of committing certain crimes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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;
(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; or
(6) during the commission of the offense, the actor
misrepresented, or misled another person to believe, that the actor
was soliciting a donation on behalf of a charitable organization or
that the proceeds of the solicitation would be used for charitable
purposes.
SECTION 2. Section 32.32, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) An offense described for purposes of punishment by
Subsections (c)(1)-(6) is increased to the next higher category of
offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that during the
commission of the offense under Subsection (b), the actor
misrepresented, or misled another person to believe, that the
property or credit was intended for use by a charitable
organization or for charitable purposes.
SECTION 3. 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.