Texas 2015 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB381 Introduced / Bill

Filed 11/25/2014

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                    84R2644 KJE-F
 By: Burkett H.B. No. 381


 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 AN ACT
 relating to the punishment for the offense of burglary of a vehicle
 and to grants of community supervision to persons who commit that
 offense.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 SECTION 1.  Section 30.04, Penal Code, is amended by
 amending Subsections (d) and (e) and adding Subsections (d-2) and
 (d-3) to read as follows:
 (d)  An offense under this section is a:
 (1)  Class B misdemeanor if the amount of pecuniary
 loss to tangible personal property is less than $500;
 (2)  Class A misdemeanor if the amount of pecuniary
 loss to tangible personal property is $500 or more but less than
 $1,500;
 (3)  [, except that:
 [(1)     the offense is a Class A misdemeanor with
 a     minimum term of confinement of six months if it is shown on the
 trial of the offense that the defendant has been previously
 convicted of an offense under this section; and
 [(2)  the offense is a] state jail felony if:
 (A)  the amount of pecuniary loss to tangible
 personal property is $1,500 or more but less than $20,000;
 (B)  the amount of pecuniary loss to tangible
 personal property is less than $1,500 and it is shown on the trial
 of the offense that the defendant has been previously convicted two
 or more times of an offense under this section; or
 (C)  the amount of pecuniary loss to tangible
 personal property is less than $1,500 and [(B)]  the vehicle or
 part of the vehicle broken into or entered is a rail car;
 (4)  felony of the third degree if the amount of
 pecuniary loss to tangible personal property is $20,000 or more but
 less than $100,000;
 (5)  felony of the second degree if the amount of
 pecuniary loss to tangible personal property is $100,000 or more
 but less than $200,000; or
 (6)  felony of the first degree if the amount of
 pecuniary loss to tangible personal property is $200,000 or more.
 (d-2)  For the purposes of Subsection (d), the amount of
 pecuniary loss to tangible personal property is the sum of:
 (1)  the cost of repairing or restoring the vehicle, if
 the defendant damaged the vehicle in the course of committing the
 offense; and
 (2)  the fair market value of any tangible personal
 property the defendant stole from the vehicle, if the defendant
 committed theft in the course of committing the offense.
 (d-3)  If the defendant, pursuant to one scheme or continuing
 course of conduct, commits three or more offenses under this
 section in a 24-hour period, the conduct may be considered as one
 offense and the amounts of pecuniary loss aggregated in determining
 the grade of offense.
 (e)  It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
 the defendant [actor] entered a rail car or any part of a rail car
 and was at that time an employee or a representative of employees
 exercising a right under the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. Section
 151 et seq.).
 SECTION 2.  Section 16(b), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal
 Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
 (b)  The amount of community service work ordered by the
 judge:
 (1)  may not exceed 1,000 hours for an offense
 classified as a first degree felony;
 (2)  may not exceed 800 hours for an offense classified
 as a second degree felony;
 (3)  may not exceed 600 hours for an offense classified
 as a third degree felony;
 (4)  may not exceed 400 hours for an offense classified
 as a state jail felony;
 (5)  may not[:
 [(A)     exceed 600 hours for an offense under
 Section 30.04, Penal Code, classified as a Class A misdemeanor; or
 [(B)]  exceed 200 hours for an [any other] offense
 classified as a Class A misdemeanor or for any other misdemeanor for
 which the maximum permissible confinement, if any, exceeds six
 months or the maximum permissible fine, if any, exceeds $4,000; and
 (6)  may not exceed 100 hours for an offense classified
 as a Class B misdemeanor or for any other misdemeanor for which the
 maximum permissible confinement, if any, does not exceed six months
 and the maximum permissible fine, if any, does not exceed $4,000.
 SECTION 3.  Sections 3(h) and 4(f), Article 42.12, Code of
 Criminal Procedure, are repealed.
 SECTION 4.  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 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 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.