87R2332 JCG-F
By: González of Dallas H.B. No. 4434
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an exception to prosecution for the criminal offense of
theft of service.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 31.04, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b), (d-1), (d-3), and (d-4) and adding
Subsection (h) to read as follows:
(b) For purposes of this section, intent to avoid payment is
presumed if any of the following occurs:
(1) the actor absconded without paying for the service
or expressly refused to pay for the service in circumstances where
payment is ordinarily made immediately upon rendering of the
service, as in hotels, campgrounds, recreational vehicle parks,
restaurants, and comparable establishments;
(2) the actor failed to make payment under a service
agreement within 10 days after receiving notice demanding payment;
(3) the actor returns property held under a rental
agreement after the expiration of the rental agreement and fails to
pay the applicable rental charge for the property within 10 days
after the date on which the actor received notice demanding
payment;
(4) the actor failed to return the property held under
a rental agreement, including a rental-purchase agreement:
(A) within five days after receiving notice
demanding return, if the property is valued at less than $2,500;
(B) within three days after receiving notice
demanding return, if the property is valued at $2,500 or more but
less than $10,000; or
(C) within two days after receiving notice
demanding return, if the property is valued at $10,000 or more; or
(5) the actor:
(A) failed to return the property held under a
rental-purchase agreement [an agreement described by Subsections
(d-2)(1)-(3)] within five business days after receiving notice
demanding return; and
(B) has made fewer than three complete payments
under the agreement.
(d-1) For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), the diversion of
services to the benefit of a person who is not entitled to those
services includes the disposition of personal property by an actor
having control of the property under a rental-purchase agreement
[an agreement described by Subsections (d-2)(1)-(3)], if the actor
disposes of the property in violation of the terms of the agreement
and to the benefit of any person who is not entitled to the
property.
(d-3) For purposes of Subsection (a)(4):
(1) if the compensation is or was to be paid on a
periodic basis, the intent to avoid payment for a service may be
formed at any time during or before a pay period;
(2) the partial payment of wages alone is not
sufficient evidence to negate the actor's intent to avoid payment
for a service; and
(3) the term "service" does not include leasing
personal property under a rental-purchase agreement [an agreement
described by Subsections (d-2)(1)-(3)].
(d-4) A presumption established under Subsection (b)
involving a defendant's failure to return property held under a
rental-purchase agreement [an agreement described by Subsections
(d-2)(1)-(3)] may be refuted if the defendant shows that the
defendant:
(1) intended to return the property; and
(2) was unable to return the property.
(h) It is an exception to the application of Subsection
(a)(3) that the written rental agreement described by that
subsection is a rental-purchase agreement.
SECTION 2. Subsection (d-2), Section 31.04, Penal Code, is
redesignated as Subsection (i), Section 31.04, Penal Code, and
amended to read as follows:
(i) In this section, "rental-purchase agreement" means
[(d-2) For purposes of Subsection (a)(3), the term "written rental
agreement" does not include] an agreement that:
(1) permits an individual to use personal property for
personal, family, or household purposes for an initial rental
period;
(2) is automatically renewable with each payment after
the initial rental period; and
(3) permits the individual to become the owner of the
property.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply 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 on the date 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.