Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2522 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R6328 JCG-F
2	2	By: Anderson H.B. No. 2522
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of theft of
8	8	service.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 31.04, Penal Code, is amended by
11	11	amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(a) A person commits theft of service if, with intent to
14	14	avoid payment for service that the actor knows is provided only for
15	15	compensation:
16	16	(1) the actor intentionally or knowingly secures
17	17	performance of the service by deception, threat, or false token;
18	18	(2) having control over the disposition of services of
19	19	another to which the actor is not entitled, the actor intentionally
20	20	or knowingly diverts the other's services to the actor's own benefit
21	21	or to the benefit of another not entitled to the services;
22	22	(3) having control of personal property under a
23	23	written rental agreement containing the notice and the actor's
24	24	acknowledgement of that notice as required by Subsection (b-1), the
25	25	actor holds the property beyond the expiration of the rental period
26	26	without the effective consent of the owner of the property, thereby
27	27	depriving the owner of the property of its use in further rentals;
28	28	or
29	29	(4) the actor intentionally or knowingly secures the
30	30	performance of the service by agreeing to provide compensation and,
31	31	after the service is rendered, fails to make full payment after
32	32	receiving notice demanding payment.
33	33	(b) For purposes of this section, the following are prima
34	34	facie evidence of the actor's intent to avoid payment [is presumed
35	35	if]:
36	36	(1) the actor absconded without paying for the service
37	37	or expressly refused to pay for the service in circumstances where
38	38	payment is ordinarily made immediately upon rendering of the
39	39	service, as in hotels, campgrounds, recreational vehicle parks,
40	40	restaurants, and comparable establishments;
41	41	(2) the actor failed to make payment under a service
42	42	agreement within 10 days after receiving notice demanding payment;
43	43	(3) the actor returns property held under a rental
44	44	agreement after the expiration of the rental agreement and fails to
45	45	pay the applicable rental charge for the property within 10 days
46	46	after the date on which the actor received notice demanding
47	47	payment; or
48	48	(4) the actor failed to return the property held under
49	49	a rental agreement:
50	50	(A) within five days after receiving notice
51	51	demanding return, if the property is valued at less than $2,500; or
52	52	(B) within three days after receiving notice
53	53	demanding return, if the property is valued at $2,500 or more.
54	54	(b-1) For purposes of Subsection (a)(3):
55	55	(1) the written rental agreement or an addendum to the
56	56	agreement must contain a notice in substantially the following
57	57	form:
58	58	"NOTICE
59	59	Failure to return rental property on or before the date the rental
60	60	period expires and failure to pay all amounts due, including costs
61	61	for damage to the rental property, is prima facie evidence of an
62	62	intent to avoid payment under Section 31.04 of the Texas Penal Code
63	63	(Theft of Service)."; and
64	64	(2) the notice described by Subdivision (1) must
65	65	contain the signature or mark of the actor acknowledging the
66	66	notice.
67	67	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
68	68	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
69	69	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
70	70	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
71	71	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
72	72	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
73	73	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
74	74	before that date.
75	75	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.