| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | relating to increasing the criminal penalty for using certain |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | materially false or misleading statements in the commission of the |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | offense of fraudulent use or possession of identifying information. |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 32.51(c-1), Penal Code, is amended to |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | read as follows: |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | (c-1) An offense described for purposes of punishment by |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | Subsections (c)(1)-(3) is increased to the next higher category of |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that: |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | (1) the offense was committed against an elderly |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | individual as defined by Section 22.04; [or] |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | (2) the actor fraudulently used identifying |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | information with the intent to facilitate an offense under Article |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | 62.102, Code of Criminal Procedure; or |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | (3) the actor used a materially false or misleading |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | statement regarding the availability, provision, or distribution |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | of a vaccine to obtain the identifying information. |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | before that date. |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
|---|