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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to increasing the criminal penalty for using certain |
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materially false or misleading statements in the commission of the |
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offense of fraudulent use or possession of identifying information. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 32.51(c-1), Penal Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(c-1) An offense described for purposes of punishment by |
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Subsections (c)(1)-(3) is increased to the next higher category of |
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offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that: |
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(1) the offense was committed against an elderly |
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individual as defined by Section 22.04; [or] |
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(2) the actor fraudulently used identifying |
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information with the intent to facilitate an offense under Article |
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62.102, Code of Criminal Procedure; or |
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(3) the actor used a materially false or misleading |
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statement regarding the availability, provision, or distribution |
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of a vaccine to obtain the identifying information. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |