Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB504 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Geren H.B. No. 504
2	2	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 504:
3	3	By: Davis of Harris C.S.H.B. No. 504
4	4
5	5
6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to the use of nonpublic information by former members of
9	9	the legislature; creating an offense.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 39.06, Penal Code, is amended to read as
12	12	follows:
13	13	Sec. 39.06. MISUSE OF OFFICIAL INFORMATION. (a) A public
14	14	servant commits an offense if, in reliance on information to which
15	15	the public servant has access by virtue of the person's office or
16	16	employment and that has not been made public, the person:
17	17	(1) acquires or aids another to acquire a pecuniary
18	18	interest in any property, transaction, or enterprise that may be
19	19	affected by the information;
20	20	(2) speculates or aids another to speculate on the
21	21	basis of the information; or
22	22	(3) as a public servant, including as a school
23	23	administrator, coerces another into suppressing or failing to
24	24	report that information to a law enforcement agency.
25	25	(b) A public servant commits an offense if with intent to
26	26	obtain a benefit or with intent to harm or defraud another, the
27	27	public servant [he] discloses or uses information for a
28	28	nongovernmental purpose that:
29	29	(1) the public servant [he] has access to by means of
30	30	the public servant's [his] office or employment; and
31	31	(2) has not been made public.
32	32	(c) A person commits an offense if, with intent to obtain a
33	33	benefit or with intent to harm or defraud another, the public
34	34	servant [he] solicits or receives from a public servant information
35	35	that:
36	36	(1) the public servant has access to by means of the
37	37	public servant's [his] office or employment; and
38	38	(2) has not been made public.
39	39	(c-1) This section applies to a former member of the
40	40	legislature for:
41	41	(1) the period concluding with the end of the
42	42	legislative cycle following the legislative cycle in which the
43	43	former member last served as a member of the legislature;
44	44	(2) information that has not been made public to which
45	45	the former member had access to during the former member's service
46	46	in the legislature; and
47	47	(3) any use in connection with activities that require
48	48	registration under Chapter 305, Government Code.
49	49	(d) In this section:
50	50	(1) [,]"information that has not been made public"
51	51	means any information to which the public does not generally have
52	52	access, and that is prohibited from disclosure under Chapter 552,
53	53	Government Code; and
54	54	(2) "Legislative cycle" means the two-year period
55	55	beginning on the first day of a regular legislative session and
56	56	ending on the day before the first day of the succeeding regular
57	57	legislative session.
58	58	(e) Except as provided by Subsection (f), an offense under
59	59	this section is a felony of the third degree.
60	60	(f) An offense:
61	61	(1) under Subsection (a)(3) is a Class C misdemeanor;
62	62	and
63	63	(2) by a public servant who is a former member of the
64	64	legislature is a Class A misdemeanor.
65	65	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect January 8, 2019.