| 1 | 1 | | 89R11591 BEE-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Guillen H.B. No. 2996 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to definitions for purposes of gambling criminal offenses |
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| 10 | 10 | | and the prosecution of gambling criminal offenses. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Section 47.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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| 13 | 13 | | Subdivision (2-a) and amending Subdivision (8) to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (2-a) "Economic benefit" means direct winnings from a |
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| 15 | 15 | | game of skill or luck. The term does not include a benefit received |
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| 16 | 16 | | before a game commences or after payment of the direct winnings from |
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| 17 | 17 | | the game. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (8) "Private place" means a place to which the public |
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| 19 | 19 | | does not have access without a valid membership, special |
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| 20 | 20 | | invitation, or prior grant of permission[,] and excludes, among |
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| 21 | 21 | | other places, streets, highways, restaurants, taverns, nightclubs, |
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| 22 | 22 | | schools, hospitals, and the common areas of apartment houses, |
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| 23 | 23 | | hotels, motels, office buildings, transportation facilities, and |
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| 24 | 24 | | shops. |
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| 25 | 25 | | SECTION 2. Section 47.04(b), Penal Code, is amended to read |
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| 26 | 26 | | as follows: |
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| 27 | 27 | | (b) It is a [an affirmative] defense to prosecution under |
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| 28 | 28 | | this section that: |
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| 29 | 29 | | (1) the gambling occurred in a private place; |
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| 30 | 30 | | (2) no person received any economic benefit other than |
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| 31 | 31 | | personal winnings; and |
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| 32 | 32 | | (3) except for the advantage of skill or luck, the |
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| 33 | 33 | | risks of losing and the chances of winning were the same for all |
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| 34 | 34 | | participants. |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 36 | 36 | | an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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| 37 | 37 | | offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed |
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| 38 | 38 | | by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the |
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| 39 | 39 | | former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of |
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| 40 | 40 | | this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of |
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| 41 | 41 | | this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 43 | 43 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 44 | 44 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 45 | 45 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 46 | 46 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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