| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the punishment for the offense of burglary of a vehicle. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 30.04, Penal Code, is amended by |
|
|
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (f) to read as |
|
|
follows: |
|
|
(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, |
|
|
except that: |
|
|
(1) the offense is a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum |
|
|
term of confinement of six months if it is shown on the trial of the |
|
|
offense that the defendant has been previously convicted of an |
|
|
offense under this section; |
|
|
(2) the offense is a state jail felony if: |
|
|
(A) it is shown on the trial of the offense that |
|
|
the defendant has been previously convicted two or more times of an |
|
|
offense under this section; or |
|
|
(B) the actor: |
|
|
(i) broke into or entered a [the] vehicle, |
|
|
or part of a [the] vehicle, that [broken into or entered] is a rail |
|
|
car; |
|
|
(ii) possessed a firearm during the |
|
|
commission of the offense; |
|
|
(iii) committed theft of a firearm during |
|
|
the commission of the offense; |
|
|
(iv) used a stolen vehicle to facilitate |
|
|
the commission of the offense; or |
|
|
(v) committed the offense with respect to |
|
|
two or more vehicles during the same criminal transaction or during |
|
|
different criminal transactions but pursuant to the same scheme or |
|
|
course of conduct; and |
|
|
(3) the offense is a felony of the third degree if: |
|
|
(A) the vehicle broken into or entered is owned |
|
|
or operated by a wholesale distributor of prescription drugs and |
|
|
the actor breaks into or enters that vehicle with the intent to |
|
|
commit theft of a controlled substance; or |
|
|
(B) it is shown on the trial of the offense that |
|
|
the actor committed the offense in the course of committing an |
|
|
offense under Section 20.05(a)(2). |
|
|
(f) In this section, "firearm" has the meaning assigned by |
|
|
Section 46.01. |
|
|
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. |