74R11000 GWK-D
By Raymond, Gutierrez H.B. No. 2199
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2199:
By Pickett C.S.H.B. No. 2199
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the prosecution for theft of certain pesticides.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 31.03, Penal Code, is amended by amending
1-5 Subsection (c) and by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
1-6 (c) For purposes of Subsection (b):
1-7 (1) evidence that the actor has previously
1-8 participated in recent transactions other than, but similar to,
1-9 that which the prosecution is based is admissible for the purpose
1-10 of showing knowledge or intent and the issues of knowledge or
1-11 intent are raised by the actor's plea of not guilty;
1-12 (2) the testimony of an accomplice shall be
1-13 corroborated by proof that tends to connect the actor to the crime,
1-14 but the actor's knowledge or intent may be established by the
1-15 uncorroborated testimony of the accomplice;
1-16 (3) an actor engaged in the business of buying and
1-17 selling used or secondhand personal property, or lending money on
1-18 the security of personal property deposited with him, is presumed
1-19 to know upon receipt by the actor of stolen property (other than a
1-20 motor vehicle subject to Article 6687-1, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-21 Statutes) that the property has been previously stolen from another
1-22 if the actor pays for or loans against the property $25 or more (or
1-23 consideration of equivalent value) and the actor knowingly or
1-24 recklessly:
2-1 (A) fails to record the name, address, and
2-2 physical description or identification number of the seller or
2-3 pledgor;
2-4 (B) fails to record a complete description of
2-5 the property, including the serial number, if reasonably available,
2-6 or other identifying characteristics; or
2-7 (C) fails to obtain a signed warranty from the
2-8 seller or pledgor that the seller or pledgor has the right to
2-9 possess the property. It is the express intent of this provision
2-10 that the presumption arises unless the actor complies with each of
2-11 the numbered requirements;
2-12 (4) for the purposes of Subdivision (3)(A),
2-13 "identification number" means driver's license number, military
2-14 identification number, identification certificate, or other
2-15 official number capable of identifying an individual;
2-16 (5) stolen property does not lose its character as
2-17 stolen when recovered by any law enforcement agency;
2-18 (6) an actor engaged in the business of obtaining
2-19 abandoned or wrecked motor vehicles or parts of an abandoned or
2-20 wrecked motor vehicle for resale, disposal, scrap, repair,
2-21 rebuilding, demolition, or other form of salvage is presumed to
2-22 know on receipt by the actor of stolen property that the property
2-23 has been previously stolen from another if the actor knowingly or
2-24 recklessly:
2-25 (A) fails to maintain an accurate and legible
2-26 inventory of each motor vehicle component part purchased by or
2-27 delivered to the actor, including the date of purchase or delivery,
3-1 the name, age, address, sex, and driver's license number of the
3-2 seller or person making the delivery, the license plate number of
3-3 the motor vehicle in which the part was delivered, a complete
3-4 description of the part, and the vehicle identification number of
3-5 the motor vehicle from which the part was removed, or in lieu of
3-6 maintaining an inventory, fails to record the name and certificate
3-7 of inventory number of the person who dismantled the motor vehicle
3-8 from which the part was obtained;
3-9 (B) fails on receipt of a motor vehicle to
3-10 obtain a certificate of authority, sales receipt, or transfer
3-11 document as required by Article V, Section 1, Chapter 741, Acts of
3-12 the 67th Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article 4477-9a,
3-13 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), or a certificate of title showing
3-14 that the motor vehicle is not subject to a lien or that all
3-15 recorded liens on the motor vehicle have been released; or
3-16 (C) fails on receipt of a motor vehicle to
3-17 immediately remove an unexpired license plate from the motor
3-18 vehicle, to keep the plate in a secure and locked place, or to
3-19 maintain an inventory, on forms provided by the Texas Department of
3-20 Transportation, of license plates kept under this paragraph,
3-21 including for each plate or set of plates the license plate number
3-22 and the make, motor number, and vehicle identification number of
3-23 the motor vehicle from which the plate was removed; <and>
3-24 (7) an actor who purchases or receives a used or
3-25 secondhand motor vehicle is presumed to know on receipt by the
3-26 actor of the motor vehicle that the motor vehicle has been
3-27 previously stolen from another if the actor knowingly or
4-1 recklessly:
4-2 (A) fails to report to the Texas Department of
4-3 Transportation the failure of the person who sold or delivered the
4-4 motor vehicle to the actor to deliver to the actor a properly
4-5 executed certificate of title to the motor vehicle at the time the
4-6 motor vehicle was delivered; or
4-7 (B) fails to file with the county tax
4-8 assessor-collector of the county in which the actor received the
4-9 motor vehicle, not later than the 20th day after the date the actor
4-10 received the motor vehicle, the registration license receipt and
4-11 certificate of title or evidence of title delivered to the actor in
4-12 accordance with Section 2, Chapter 364, Acts of the 50th
4-13 Legislature, Regular Session, 1947 (Article 6687-6, Vernon's Texas
4-14 Civil Statutes), at the time the motor vehicle was delivered; and
4-15 (8) an actor who purchases or receives from any source
4-16 other than a licensed retailer or distributor of pesticides a
4-17 restricted-use pesticide or a state-limited-use pesticide or a
4-18 compound, mixture, or preparation containing a restricted-use or
4-19 state-limited-use pesticide is presumed to know on receipt by the
4-20 actor of the pesticide or compound, mixture, or preparation that
4-21 the pesticide or compound, mixture, or preparation has been
4-22 previously stolen from another if the actor:
4-23 (A) fails to record the name, address, and
4-24 physical description of the seller or pledgor;
4-25 (B) fails to record a complete description of
4-26 the amount and type of pesticide or compound, mixture, or
4-27 preparation purchased or received; and
5-1 (C) fails to obtain a signed warranty from the
5-2 seller or pledgor that the seller or pledgor has the right to
5-3 possess the property.
5-4 (g) In this section:
5-5 (1) "Restricted-use pesticide" means a pesticide
5-6 classified as a restricted-use pesticide by the administrator of
5-7 the Environmental Protection Agency under 7 U.S.C. Section 136a, as
5-8 that law existed on January 1, 1995, and containing an active
5-9 ingredient listed in the federal regulations adopted under that law
5-10 (40 C.F.R. Section 152.175) and in effect on that date.
5-11 (2) "State-limited-use pesticide" means a pesticide
5-12 classified as a state-limited-use pesticide by the Department of
5-13 Agriculture under Section 76.003, Agriculture Code, as that section
5-14 existed on January 1, 1995, and containing an active ingredient
5-15 listed in the rules adopted under that section (4 Tex. Admin. Code
5-16 Section 7.24) as that section existed on that date.
5-17 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
5-18 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
5-19 Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
5-20 the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
5-21 before the effective date.
5-22 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
5-23 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
5-24 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
5-25 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
5-26 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
5-27 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-1 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-2 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-3 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.