S.B. No. 676
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the prosecution for theft of certain pesticides.
1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-3 SECTION 1. Section 31.03, Penal Code, is amended by amending
1-4 Subsection (c) and by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
1-5 (c) For purposes of Subsection (b):
1-6 (1) evidence that the actor has previously
1-7 participated in recent transactions other than, but similar to,
1-8 that which the prosecution is based is admissible for the purpose
1-9 of showing knowledge or intent and the issues of knowledge or
1-10 intent are raised by the actor's plea of not guilty;
1-11 (2) the testimony of an accomplice shall be
1-12 corroborated by proof that tends to connect the actor to the crime,
1-13 but the actor's knowledge or intent may be established by the
1-14 uncorroborated testimony of the accomplice;
1-15 (3) an actor engaged in the business of buying and
1-16 selling used or secondhand personal property, or lending money on
1-17 the security of personal property deposited with him, is presumed
1-18 to know upon receipt by the actor of stolen property (other than a
1-19 motor vehicle subject to Article 6687-1, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-20 Statutes) that the property has been previously stolen from another
1-21 if the actor pays for or loans against the property $25 or more (or
1-22 consideration of equivalent value) and the actor knowingly or
1-23 recklessly:
1-24 (A) fails to record the name, address, and
2-1 physical description or identification number of the seller or
2-2 pledgor;
2-3 (B) fails to record a complete description of
2-4 the property, including the serial number, if reasonably available,
2-5 or other identifying characteristics; or
2-6 (C) fails to obtain a signed warranty from the
2-7 seller or pledgor that the seller or pledgor has the right to
2-8 possess the property. It is the express intent of this provision
2-9 that the presumption arises unless the actor complies with each of
2-10 the numbered requirements;
2-11 (4) for the purposes of Subdivision (3)(A),
2-12 "identification number" means driver's license number, military
2-13 identification number, identification certificate, or other
2-14 official number capable of identifying an individual;
2-15 (5) stolen property does not lose its character as
2-16 stolen when recovered by any law enforcement agency;
2-17 (6) an actor engaged in the business of obtaining
2-18 abandoned or wrecked motor vehicles or parts of an abandoned or
2-19 wrecked motor vehicle for resale, disposal, scrap, repair,
2-20 rebuilding, demolition, or other form of salvage is presumed to
2-21 know on receipt by the actor of stolen property that the property
2-22 has been previously stolen from another if the actor knowingly or
2-23 recklessly:
2-24 (A) fails to maintain an accurate and legible
2-25 inventory of each motor vehicle component part purchased by or
2-26 delivered to the actor, including the date of purchase or delivery,
2-27 the name, age, address, sex, and driver's license number of the
3-1 seller or person making the delivery, the license plate number of
3-2 the motor vehicle in which the part was delivered, a complete
3-3 description of the part, and the vehicle identification number of
3-4 the motor vehicle from which the part was removed, or in lieu of
3-5 maintaining an inventory, fails to record the name and certificate
3-6 of inventory number of the person who dismantled the motor vehicle
3-7 from which the part was obtained;
3-8 (B) fails on receipt of a motor vehicle to
3-9 obtain a certificate of authority, sales receipt, or transfer
3-10 document as required by Article V, Section 1, Chapter 741, Acts of
3-11 the 67th Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article 4477-9a,
3-12 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), or a certificate of title showing
3-13 that the motor vehicle is not subject to a lien or that all
3-14 recorded liens on the motor vehicle have been released; or
3-15 (C) fails on receipt of a motor vehicle to
3-16 immediately remove an unexpired license plate from the motor
3-17 vehicle, to keep the plate in a secure and locked place, or to
3-18 maintain an inventory, on forms provided by the Texas Department of
3-19 Transportation, of license plates kept under this paragraph,
3-20 including for each plate or set of plates the license plate number
3-21 and the make, motor number, and vehicle identification number of
3-22 the motor vehicle from which the plate was removed; <and>
3-23 (7) an actor who purchases or receives a used or
3-24 secondhand motor vehicle is presumed to know on receipt by the
3-25 actor of the motor vehicle that the motor vehicle has been
3-26 previously stolen from another if the actor knowingly or
3-27 recklessly:
4-1 (A) fails to report to the Texas Department of
4-2 Transportation the failure of the person who sold or delivered the
4-3 motor vehicle to the actor to deliver to the actor a properly
4-4 executed certificate of title to the motor vehicle at the time the
4-5 motor vehicle was delivered; or
4-6 (B) fails to file with the county tax
4-7 assessor-collector of the county in which the actor received the
4-8 motor vehicle, not later than the 20th day after the date the actor
4-9 received the motor vehicle, the registration license receipt and
4-10 certificate of title or evidence of title delivered to the actor in
4-11 accordance with Section 2, Chapter 364, Acts of the 50th
4-12 Legislature, Regular Session, 1947 (Article 6687-6, Vernon's Texas
4-13 Civil Statutes), at the time the motor vehicle was delivered; and
4-14 (8) an actor who purchases or receives from any source
4-15 other than a licensed retailer or distributor of pesticides a
4-16 restricted-use pesticide or a state-limited-use pesticide or a
4-17 compound, mixture, or preparation containing a restricted-use or
4-18 state-limited-use pesticide is presumed to know on receipt by the
4-19 actor of the pesticide or compound, mixture, or preparation that
4-20 the pesticide or compound, mixture, or preparation has been
4-21 previously stolen from another if the actor:
4-22 (A) fails to record the name, address, and
4-23 physical description of the seller or pledgor;
4-24 (B) fails to record a complete description of
4-25 the amount and type of pesticide or compound, mixture, or
4-26 preparation purchased or received; and
4-27 (C) fails to obtain a signed warranty from the
5-1 seller or pledgor that the seller or pledgor has the right to
5-2 possess the property.
5-3 (g) In this section:
5-4 (1) "Restricted-use pesticide" means a pesticide
5-5 classified as a restricted-use pesticide by the administrator of
5-6 the Environmental Protection Agency under 7 U.S.C. Section 136a, as
5-7 that law existed on January 1, 1995, and containing an active
5-8 ingredient listed in the federal regulations adopted under that law
5-9 (40 C.F.R. Section 152.175) and in effect on that date.
5-10 (2) "State-limited-use pesticide" means a pesticide
5-11 classified as a state-limited-use pesticide by the Department of
5-12 Agriculture under Section 76.003, Agriculture Code, as that section
5-13 existed on January 1, 1995, and containing an active ingredient
5-14 listed in the rules adopted under that section (4 TAC Section 7.24)
5-15 as that section existed on that date.
5-16 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
5-17 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
5-18 Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
5-19 the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
5-20 before the effective date.
5-21 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
5-22 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
5-23 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
5-24 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
5-25 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
5-26 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-27 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-1 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-2 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.