Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2135 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R6111 JRR-F
2	2	By: Bhojani H.B. No. 2135
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of organized
10	10	retail theft.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 31.16, Penal Code, is amended to read as
13	13	follows:
14	14	Sec. 31.16. ORGANIZED RETAIL THEFT. (a) [(b)] A person
15	15	commits an offense if, with the intent to support, facilitate, or
16	16	engage in the acquisition of stolen retail merchandise and the
17	17	redistribution of that merchandise into the supply chain, the
18	18	person [intentionally] conducts, promotes, or facilitates an
19	19	activity in which the person receives, possesses, conceals, stores,
20	20	barters, sells, or disposes of a total value of not less than $100
21	21	of:
22	22	(1) stolen retail merchandise; or
23	23	(2) merchandise explicitly represented to the person
24	24	as being stolen retail merchandise.
25	25	(b) [(c)] An offense under this section is:
26	26	(1) [a Class C misdemeanor if the total value of the
27	27	merchandise involved in the activity is less than $100;
28	28	[(2)] a Class B misdemeanor if the total value of the
29	29	merchandise involved in the activity is $100 or more but less than
30	30	$750;
31	31	(2) [(3)] a Class A misdemeanor if the total value of
32	32	the merchandise involved in the activity is $750 or more but less
33	33	than $2,500;
34	34	(3) [(4)] a state jail felony if the total value of the
35	35	merchandise involved in the activity is $2,500 or more but less than
36	36	$30,000;
37	37	(4) [(5)] a felony of the third degree if the total
38	38	value of the merchandise involved in the activity is $30,000 or more
39	39	but less than $150,000;
40	40	(5) [(6)] a felony of the second degree if the total
41	41	value of the merchandise involved in the activity is $150,000 or
42	42	more but less than $300,000; or
43	43	(6) [(7)] a felony of the first degree if the total
44	44	value of the merchandise involved in the activity is $300,000 or
45	45	more.
46	46	(c) [(d)] An offense described for purposes of punishment
47	47	by Subsections (b)(1)-(5) [(c)(1)-(6)] is increased to the next
48	48	higher category of offense if it is shown on the trial of the
49	49	offense that:
50	50	(1) the person organized, supervised, financed, or
51	51	managed one or more other persons engaged in an activity described
52	52	by Subsection (a) [(b)]; or
53	53	(2) during the commission of the offense, a person
54	54	engaged in an activity described by Subsection (a) [(b)]
55	55	intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly:
56	56	(A) caused a fire exit alarm to sound or
57	57	otherwise become activated;
58	58	(B) deactivated or otherwise prevented a fire
59	59	exit alarm or retail theft detector from sounding; or
60	60	(C) used a shielding or deactivation instrument
61	61	to prevent or attempt to prevent detection of the offense by a
62	62	retail theft detector.
63	63	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
64	64	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
65	65	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
66	66	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
67	67	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
68	68	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
69	69	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
70	70	before that date.
71	71	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.