By: Solis H.B. No. 1951
73R5573 MI-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to illegal dumping; providing a criminal penalty.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 365, Health and Safety
1-5 Code, is amended by adding Section 365.035 to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 365.035. ILLEGAL DUMPING. (a) A person commits an
1-7 offense if the person transports any amount of litter or other
1-8 solid waste produced outside the municipal boundaries of a
1-9 municipality into the municipality and disposes of the litter or
1-10 other solid waste at a municipal collecting location or a location
1-11 that is not an approved solid waste disposal site.
1-12 (b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
1-13 If it is shown at the trial of the defendant for an offense under
1-14 this section that the defendant has previously been convicted of an
1-15 offense under this section, the offense is punishable as a Class A
1-16 misdemeanor.
1-17 (c) A municipality or county may offer a reward of $50 for
1-18 reporting an act of illegal dumping that results in a prosecution
1-19 under this section.
1-20 (d) In this section:
1-21 (1) "Litter" has the meaning assigned by Section
1-22 365.011.
1-23 (2) "Municipal collecting location" means a location
1-24 from which the municipality or another public or private entity
2-1 collects municipal solid waste, including:
2-2 (A) residential and commercial curbside
2-3 collection sites; and
2-4 (B) residential or commercial receptacles that
2-5 are specifically designed and used to hold municipal solid waste
2-6 before collection for disposal.
2-7 (3) "Solid waste" has the meaning assigned by Section
2-8 361.003.
2-9 SECTION 2. Subdivisions (1) and (2), Article 59.01, Code of
2-10 Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
2-11 (1) "Attorney representing the state" means the
2-12 prosecutor with felony jurisdiction in the county in which a
2-13 forfeiture proceeding is held under this chapter or, in a
2-14 proceeding for forfeiture of contraband as defined under
2-15 Subdivision (2)(B)(iv) of this article, the prosecuting attorney
2-16 bringing the action under Section 365.035, Health and Safety Code.
2-17 (2) "Contraband" means property of any nature,
2-18 including real, personal, tangible, or intangible, that is:
2-19 (A) used in the commission of:
2-20 (i) any first or second degree felony
2-21 under the Penal Code;
2-22 (ii) any felony under Chapters 29, 30, 31,
2-23 or 32, Penal Code; or
2-24 (iii) any felony under The Securities Act
2-25 (Article 581-1 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes);
2-26 (B) used or intended to be used in the
2-27 commission of:
3-1 (i) any felony under Chapter 481, Health
3-2 and Safety Code (Texas Controlled Substances Act);
3-3 (ii) any felony under Chapter 483, Health
3-4 and Safety Code; <or>
3-5 (iii) a felony under Article 350, Revised
3-6 Statutes; or
3-7 (iv) a Class A misdemeanor under Section
3-8 365.035, Health and Safety Code;
3-9 (C) the proceeds gained from the commission of a
3-10 felony listed in Paragraph (A) or (B) of this subdivision; or
3-11 (D) acquired with proceeds gained from the
3-12 commission of a felony listed in Paragraph (A) or (B) of this
3-13 subdivision.
3-14 SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
3-15 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
3-16 Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
3-17 the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
3-18 before that date.
3-19 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
3-20 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
3-21 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
3-22 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
3-23 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
3-24 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-25 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-26 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-27 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.