84R18615 MEW-F
By: Raymond H.B. No. 3291
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3291:
By: King of Parker C.S.H.B. No. 3291
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to increasing the punishment for certain offenses
involving oil, gas, or condensate or equipment designed for the
exploration or production of oil and gas; creating an offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 85.389, Natural Resources Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to
read as follows:
(b) A person commits an offense if the person purchases or
sells oil, gas, or condensate without the applicable tender or
permit of the commission relating to oil or gas or a product or
byproduct of oil or gas.
(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the second
[third] degree.
SECTION 2. Section 31.03, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (f-1) to read as
follows:
(e) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (f) and
(f-1), an offense under this section is:
(1) a Class C misdemeanor if the value of the property
stolen is less than:
(A) $50; or
(B) $20 and the defendant obtained the property
by issuing or passing a check or similar sight order in a manner
described by Section 31.06;
(2) a Class B misdemeanor if:
(A) the value of the property stolen is:
(i) $50 or more but less than $500; or
(ii) $20 or more but less than $500 and the
defendant obtained the property by issuing or passing a check or
similar sight order in a manner described by Section 31.06;
(B) the value of the property stolen is less
than:
(i) $50 and the defendant has previously
been convicted of any grade of theft; or
(ii) $20, the defendant has previously been
convicted of any grade of theft, and the defendant obtained the
property by issuing or passing a check or similar sight order in a
manner described by Section 31.06; or
(C) the property stolen is a driver's license,
commercial driver's license, or personal identification
certificate issued by this state or another state;
(3) a Class A misdemeanor if the value of the property
stolen is $500 or more but less than $1,500;
(4) a state jail felony if:
(A) the value of the property stolen is $1,500 or
more but less than $20,000, or the property is less than 10 head of
sheep, swine, or goats or any part thereof under the value of
$20,000;
(B) regardless of value, the property is stolen
from the person of another or from a human corpse or grave,
including property that is a military grave marker;
(C) the property stolen is a firearm, as defined
by Section 46.01;
(D) the value of the property stolen is less than
$1,500 and the defendant has been previously convicted two or more
times of any grade of theft;
(E) the property stolen is an official ballot or
official carrier envelope for an election; or
(F) the value of the property stolen is less than
$20,000 and the property stolen is:
(i) aluminum;
(ii) bronze;
(iii) copper; or
(iv) brass;
(5) a felony of the third degree if the value of the
property stolen is $20,000 or more but less than $100,000, or the
property is:
(A) cattle, horses, or exotic livestock or exotic
fowl as defined by Section 142.001, Agriculture Code, stolen during
a single transaction and having an aggregate value of less than
$100,000; or
(B) 10 or more head of sheep, swine, or goats
stolen during a single transaction and having an aggregate value of
less than $100,000;
(6) a felony of the second degree if:
(A) the value of the property stolen is $100,000
or more but less than $200,000; [or]
(B) the value of the property stolen is less than
$200,000 and the property stolen is an automated teller machine or
the contents or components of an automated teller machine; or
(C) the value of the property stolen is $10,000
or more but less than $200,000 and the property stolen is:
(i) oil and gas equipment or pipeline
equipment, as those terms are defined by Section 112.001, Natural
Resources Code;
(ii) oil or gas, as those terms are defined
by Section 115.001, Natural Resources Code; or
(iii) condensate, as defined by Section
201.001, Tax Code; or
(7) a felony of the first degree if the value of the
property stolen is $200,000 or more.
(f-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (e)(6)(C)(i), (ii), or
(iii), an offense described for purposes of punishment by any of
those subparagraphs is a felony of the first degree if the actor was
employed by or in a contractual relationship with the owner of the
equipment or the oil, gas, or condensate and the property
appropriated came into the actor's custody, possession, or control
by virtue of that employment or contractual relationship.
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, 2015.