Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB37 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	H.B. No. 37
	1	+	By: Minjarez, et al. H.B. No. 37
	2	+	(Senate Sponsor - Perry, Menéndez)
	3	+	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 8, 2019;
	4	+	May 13, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
	5	+	Justice; May 17, 2019, reported favorably by the following vote:
	6	+	Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 17, 2019, sent to printer.)
	7	+	Click here to see the committee vote
2	8
3	9
	10	+	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
4	11		AN ACT
5	12		relating to the creation of the criminal offense of mail theft.
6	13		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
7	14		SECTION 1. Chapter 31, Penal Code, is amended by adding
8	15		Section 31.20 to read as follows:
9	16		Sec. 31.20. MAIL THEFT. (a) In this section:
10	17		(1) "Disabled individual" and "elderly individual"
11	18		have the meanings assigned by Section 22.04.
12	19		(2) "Identifying information" has the meaning
13	20		assigned by Section 32.51.
14	21		(3) "Mail" means a letter, postal card, package, bag,
15	22		or other sealed article that:
16	23		(A) is delivered by a common carrier or delivery
17	24		service and not yet received by the addressee; or
18	25		(B) has been left to be collected for delivery by
19	26		a common carrier or delivery service.
20	27		(b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
21	28		appropriates mail from another person's mailbox or premises without
22	29		the effective consent of the addressee and with the intent to
23	30		deprive that addressee of the mail.
24	31		(c) Except as provided by Subsections (d) and (e), an
25	32		offense under this section is:
26	33		(1) a Class A misdemeanor if the mail is appropriated
27	34		from fewer than 10 addressees;
28	35		(2) a state jail felony if the mail is appropriated
29	36		from at least 10 but fewer than 30 addressees; or
30	37		(3) a felony of the third degree if the mail is
31	38		appropriated from 30 or more addressees.
32	39		(d) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
33	40		section that the appropriated mail contained an item of identifying
34	41		information and the actor committed the offense with the intent to
35	42		facilitate an offense under Section 32.51, an offense under this
36	43		section is:
37	44		(1) a state jail felony if the mail is appropriated
38	45		from fewer than 10 addressees;
39	46		(2) a felony of the third degree if the mail is
40	47		appropriated from at least 10 but fewer than 20 addressees;
41	48		(3) a felony of the second degree if the mail is
42	49		appropriated from at least 20 but fewer than 50 addressees; or
43	50		(4) a felony of the first degree if the mail is
44	51		appropriated from 50 or more addressees.
45	52		(e) An offense described for purposes of punishment by
46	53		Subsection (d)(1), (2), or (3) is increased to the next higher
47	54		category of offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that
48	55		at the time of the offense the actor knew or had reason to believe
49	56		that an addressee from whom the actor appropriated mail was a
50	57		disabled individual or an elderly individual.
51	58		(f) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this
52	59		section also constitutes an offense under another law, the actor
53	60		may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both.
54	61		SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
55		-	______________________________ ______________________________
56		-	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
57		-	I certify that H.B. No. 37 was passed by the House on May 8,
58		-	2019, by the following vote: Yeas 135, Nays 2, 1 present, not
59		-	voting.
60		-	______________________________
61		-	Chief Clerk of the House
62		-	I certify that H.B. No. 37 was passed by the Senate on May 22,
63		-	2019, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
64		-	______________________________
65		-	Secretary of the Senate
66		-	APPROVED: _____________________
67		-	Date
68		-	_____________________
69		-	Governor
	62	+	* * * * *