| 1 | 1 | | 88R9110 MZM-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: West S.B. No. 973 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to increasing criminal penalties for the offense of |
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| 8 | 8 | | criminal mischief involving certain damage to residential gas |
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| 9 | 9 | | meters. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 28.03(b), Penal Code, is amended to read |
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| 12 | 12 | | as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (b) Except as provided by Subsections (f) and (h), an |
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| 14 | 14 | | offense under this section is: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) a Class C misdemeanor if: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (A) the amount of pecuniary loss is less than |
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| 17 | 17 | | $100; or |
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| 18 | 18 | | (B) except as provided in Subdivision (3)(A) or |
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| 19 | 19 | | (3)(B), it causes substantial inconvenience to others; |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) a Class B misdemeanor if the amount of pecuniary |
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| 21 | 21 | | loss is $100 or more but less than $750; |
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| 22 | 22 | | (3) a Class A misdemeanor if: |
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| 23 | 23 | | (A) the amount of pecuniary loss is $750 or more |
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| 24 | 24 | | but less than $2,500; or |
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| 25 | 25 | | (B) the actor causes in whole or in part |
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| 26 | 26 | | impairment or interruption of any public water supply, or causes to |
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| 27 | 27 | | be diverted in whole, in part, or in any manner, including |
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| 28 | 28 | | installation or removal of any device for any such purpose, any |
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| 29 | 29 | | public water supply, regardless of the amount of the pecuniary |
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| 30 | 30 | | loss; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (4) a state jail felony if the amount of pecuniary loss |
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| 32 | 32 | | is: |
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| 33 | 33 | | (A) $2,500 or more but less than $30,000; |
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| 34 | 34 | | (B) less than $2,500, if the property damaged or |
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| 35 | 35 | | destroyed is a habitation and if the damage or destruction is caused |
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| 36 | 36 | | by a firearm or explosive weapon; |
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| 37 | 37 | | (C) less than $2,500, if the property was a fence |
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| 38 | 38 | | used for the production or containment of: |
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| 39 | 39 | | (i) cattle, bison, horses, sheep, swine, |
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| 40 | 40 | | goats, exotic livestock, or exotic poultry; or |
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| 41 | 41 | | (ii) game animals as that term is defined by |
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| 42 | 42 | | Section 63.001, Parks and Wildlife Code; [or] |
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| 43 | 43 | | (D) less than $30,000 and the actor: |
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| 44 | 44 | | (i) causes wholly or partly impairment or |
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| 45 | 45 | | interruption of property used for flood control purposes or a dam or |
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| 46 | 46 | | of public communications, public transportation, public gas or |
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| 47 | 47 | | power supply, or other public service; or |
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| 48 | 48 | | (ii) causes to be diverted wholly, partly, |
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| 49 | 49 | | or in any manner, including installation or removal of any device |
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| 50 | 50 | | for any such purpose, any public communications or public gas or |
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| 51 | 51 | | power supply; or |
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| 52 | 52 | | (E) less than $2,500, if: |
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| 53 | 53 | | (i) the property damaged or destroyed is a |
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| 54 | 54 | | meter installed by a gas utility on the property of a residence, |
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| 55 | 55 | | including a meter installed on the property of an apartment, a |
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| 56 | 56 | | leased or owner-occupied condominium, or a building that receives |
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| 57 | 57 | | gas utility service that is master metered; and |
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| 58 | 58 | | (ii) the damage or destruction is caused by |
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| 59 | 59 | | discharging a firearm; |
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| 60 | 60 | | (5) a felony of the third degree if: |
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| 61 | 61 | | (A) the amount of the pecuniary loss is $30,000 |
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| 62 | 62 | | or more but less than $150,000; |
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| 63 | 63 | | (B) the actor, by discharging a firearm or other |
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| 64 | 64 | | weapon or by any other means, causes the death of one or more head of |
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| 65 | 65 | | cattle or bison or one or more horses; [or] |
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| 66 | 66 | | (C) the actor causes wholly or partly impairment |
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| 67 | 67 | | or interruption of access to an automated teller machine, |
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| 68 | 68 | | regardless of the amount of the pecuniary loss; or |
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| 69 | 69 | | (D) the offense is punishable under Subsection |
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| 70 | 70 | | (b)(4)(E) and as a direct result of the commission of the offense an |
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| 71 | 71 | | individual suffered serious bodily injury or death; |
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| 72 | 72 | | (6) a felony of the second degree if the amount of |
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| 73 | 73 | | pecuniary loss is $150,000 or more but less than $300,000; or |
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| 74 | 74 | | (7) a felony of the first degree if the amount of |
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| 75 | 75 | | pecuniary loss is $300,000 or more. |
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| 76 | 76 | | SECTION 2. Section 28.03(g), Penal Code, is amended by |
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| 77 | 77 | | adding Subdivisions (10) and (11) to read as follows: |
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| 78 | 78 | | (10) "Gas utility" has the meaning assigned by Section |
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| 79 | 79 | | 101.003, Utilities Code, and for the purposes of this section |
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| 80 | 80 | | includes a municipally owned utility as defined by that section. |
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| 81 | 81 | | (11) "Meter" means an instrument or machine used to |
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| 82 | 82 | | measure and record the use of gas. |
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| 83 | 83 | | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 84 | 84 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 85 | 85 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 86 | 86 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 87 | 87 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 88 | 88 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 89 | 89 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 90 | 90 | | before that date. |
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| 91 | 91 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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