By Black H.B. No. 608
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the ownership, recovery, theft, and taxation of exotic
1-3 livestock and exotic fowl, and to control of disease in exotic
1-4 fowl; providing criminal penalties.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Section 142.001, Agriculture Code, is amended by
1-7 amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (4) and (5) to
1-8 read as follows:
1-9 (1) "Estray" means stray livestock, stray exotic
1-10 livestock, or stray exotic fowl.
1-11 (4) "Exotic livestock" means grass-eating or
1-12 plant-eating, single-hooved or cloven-hooved mammals that are not
1-13 indigenous to this state and are known as ungulates, including
1-14 animals from the swine, horse, tapir, rhinoceros, elephant, deer,
1-15 and antelope families but not including a mammal defined by Section
1-16 63.001, Parks and Wildlife Code, as a game animal, or by Section
1-17 71.001, Parks and Wildlife Code, as a fur-bearing animal, or any
1-18 other indigenous mammal regulated by the Parks and Wildlife
1-19 Department as an endangered or threatened species. The term does
1-20 not include a nonindigenous mammal located on publicly owned land.
1-21 (5) "Exotic fowl" means any avian species that is not
1-22 indigenous to this state. The term includes ostriches but does not
1-23 include a bird defined by Section 64.001, Parks and Wildlife Code,
1-24 as a game bird or any other indigenous bird regulated by the Parks
2-1 and Wildlife Department as an endangered or threatened species.
2-2 The term does not include nonindigenous birds located on publicly
2-3 owned land.
2-4 SECTION 2. Chapter 142, Agriculture Code, is amended by
2-5 adding Section 142.0021 to read as follows:
2-6 Sec. 142.0021. OWNERSHIP OF EXOTIC WILDLIFE AND FOWL. A
2-7 person may claim to be the owner of exotic livestock or exotic fowl
2-8 under this chapter only if the animal is tagged, branded, banded,
2-9 or marked in another conspicuous manner that can be read or
2-10 identified from a long distance and that identifies the animal as
2-11 being the property of the claimant.
2-12 SECTION 3. Section 161.001(a)(4), Agriculture Code, is
2-13 amended to read as follows:
2-14 (4) "Exotic fowl" means any avian species that is not
2-15 indigenous to this state. The term includes ratites <ostriches>.
2-16 SECTION 4. Section 31.03(e), Penal Code, is amended to read
2-17 as follows:
2-18 (e) Except as provided by Subsection (f) of this section, an
2-19 offense under this section is:
2-20 (1) a Class C misdemeanor if the value of the property
2-21 stolen is less than $20;
2-22 (2) a Class B misdemeanor if:
2-23 (A) the value of the property stolen is $20 or
2-24 more but less than $200; or
2-25 (B) the value of the property stolen is less
2-26 than $20 and the defendant has previously been convicted of any
2-27 grade of theft;
3-1 (3) a Class A misdemeanor if:
3-2 (A) the value of the property stolen is $200 or
3-3 more but less than $750; or
3-4 (B) the property stolen is one firearm, as
3-5 defined by Section 46.01 of this code, and is valued at less than
3-6 $400;
3-7 (4) a felony of the third degree if:
3-8 (A) the value of the property stolen is $750 or
3-9 more but less than $20,000, or the property is one or more head of
3-10 cattle, horses, sheep, swine, <or> goats, or exotic livestock or
3-11 exotic fowl as defined by Section 142.001, Agriculture Code, or any
3-12 part of these animals <thereof> under the value of $20,000;
3-13 (B) regardless of value, the property is stolen
3-14 from the person of another or from a human corpse or grave;
3-15 (C) the property stolen is one firearm, as
3-16 defined by Section 46.01 of this code, and is valued at more than
3-17 $400;
3-18 (D) the property stolen is two or more firearms,
3-19 as defined by Section 46.01 of this code; or
3-20 (E) the value of the property stolen is less
3-21 than $750 and the defendant has been previously convicted two or
3-22 more times of any grade of theft;
3-23 (5) a felony of the second degree if:
3-24 (A) the value of the property stolen is less
3-25 than $100,000 and the property is:
3-26 (i) combustible hydrocarbon natural or
3-27 synthetic natural gas, or crude petroleum oil;
4-1 (ii) equipment designed for use in
4-2 exploration for or production of natural gas or crude petroleum
4-3 oil; or
4-4 (iii) equipment designed for use in
4-5 remedial or diagnostic operations on gas or crude petroleum oil
4-6 wells;
4-7 (B) the value of the property stolen is $20,000
4-8 or more but less than $100,000; or
4-9 (C) the value of the property is less than
4-10 $100,000 and the property was unlawfully appropriated or attempted
4-11 to be unlawfully appropriated by threat to commit a felony offense
4-12 against the person or property of the person threatened or another
4-13 or to withhold information about the location or purported location
4-14 of a bomb, poison, or other harmful object that threatens to harm
4-15 the person or property of the person threatened or another person;
4-16 or
4-17 (6) a felony of the first degree if:
4-18 (A) the value of the property stolen is $100,000
4-19 or more; or
4-20 (B) the value of the property is $100,000 or
4-21 more and the property was unlawfully appropriated or attempted to
4-22 be unlawfully appropriated in the manner described by Subdivision
4-23 (5)(C) of this subsection.
4-24 SECTION 5. Section 31.03, Penal Code, is amended by adding
4-25 Subsection (h) to read as follows:
4-26 (h) For the purposes of Subsection (a) of this section, a
4-27 person is the owner of exotic livestock or exotic fowl as defined
5-1 by Section 142.001, Agriculture Code, only if the person qualifies
5-2 to claim the animal under Section 142.0021, Agriculture Code, if
5-3 the animal is an estray.
5-4 SECTION 6. Section 23.51(6), Tax Code, is amended to read as
5-5 follows:
5-6 (6) "Exotic animal" means a species of game not
5-7 indigenous to this state, including axis deer, nilga antelope, red
5-8 sheep, <or> other cloven-hoofed ruminant mammals, or exotic fowl as
5-9 defined by Section 142.001, Agriculture Code.
5-10 SECTION 7. (a) The change in law made by Sections 4 and 5
5-11 of this Act applies only to an offense committed on or after the
5-12 effective date of this Act. For purposes of this section, an
5-13 offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any
5-14 element of the offense occurs before the effective date.
5-15 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
5-16 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
5-17 and the former law is continued in effect for this purpose.
5-18 SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
5-19 SECTION 9. The importance of this legislation and the
5-20 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-21 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-22 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-23 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.