89R13867 EAS-D
By: Dyson H.B. No. 4996
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of
refusal to execute the release of a fraudulent lien or claim.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 32.49(c), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(c) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the owner
of the real or personal property subject to the fraudulent lien or
claim is a person the actor knows is a public servant.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.