1-1 By: Lucio S.B. No. 676
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed February 21, 1995; February 23, 1995,
1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
1-4 April 28, 1995, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; April 28, 1995,
1-6 sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 676 By: Brown
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to the prosecution for theft of certain pesticides.
1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12 SECTION 1. Section 31.03, Penal Code, is amended by amending
1-13 Subsection (c) and by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
1-14 (c) For purposes of Subsection (b):
1-15 (1) evidence that the actor has previously
1-16 participated in recent transactions other than, but similar to,
1-17 that which the prosecution is based is admissible for the purpose
1-18 of showing knowledge or intent and the issues of knowledge or
1-19 intent are raised by the actor's plea of not guilty;
1-20 (2) the testimony of an accomplice shall be
1-21 corroborated by proof that tends to connect the actor to the crime,
1-22 but the actor's knowledge or intent may be established by the
1-23 uncorroborated testimony of the accomplice;
1-24 (3) an actor engaged in the business of buying and
1-25 selling used or secondhand personal property, or lending money on
1-26 the security of personal property deposited with him, is presumed
1-27 to know upon receipt by the actor of stolen property (other than a
1-28 motor vehicle subject to Article 6687-1, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-29 Statutes) that the property has been previously stolen from another
1-30 if the actor pays for or loans against the property $25 or more (or
1-31 consideration of equivalent value) and the actor knowingly or
1-32 recklessly:
1-33 (A) fails to record the name, address, and
1-34 physical description or identification number of the seller or
1-35 pledgor;
1-36 (B) fails to record a complete description of
1-37 the property, including the serial number, if reasonably available,
1-38 or other identifying characteristics; or
1-39 (C) fails to obtain a signed warranty from the
1-40 seller or pledgor that the seller or pledgor has the right to
1-41 possess the property. It is the express intent of this provision
1-42 that the presumption arises unless the actor complies with each of
1-43 the numbered requirements;
1-44 (4) for the purposes of Subdivision (3)(A),
1-45 "identification number" means driver's license number, military
1-46 identification number, identification certificate, or other
1-47 official number capable of identifying an individual;
1-48 (5) stolen property does not lose its character as
1-49 stolen when recovered by any law enforcement agency;
1-50 (6) an actor engaged in the business of obtaining
1-51 abandoned or wrecked motor vehicles or parts of an abandoned or
1-52 wrecked motor vehicle for resale, disposal, scrap, repair,
1-53 rebuilding, demolition, or other form of salvage is presumed to
1-54 know on receipt by the actor of stolen property that the property
1-55 has been previously stolen from another if the actor knowingly or
1-56 recklessly:
1-57 (A) fails to maintain an accurate and legible
1-58 inventory of each motor vehicle component part purchased by or
1-59 delivered to the actor, including the date of purchase or delivery,
1-60 the name, age, address, sex, and driver's license number of the
1-61 seller or person making the delivery, the license plate number of
1-62 the motor vehicle in which the part was delivered, a complete
1-63 description of the part, and the vehicle identification number of
1-64 the motor vehicle from which the part was removed, or in lieu of
1-65 maintaining an inventory, fails to record the name and certificate
1-66 of inventory number of the person who dismantled the motor vehicle
1-67 from which the part was obtained;
1-68 (B) fails on receipt of a motor vehicle to
2-1 obtain a certificate of authority, sales receipt, or transfer
2-2 document as required by Article V, Section 1, Chapter 741, Acts of
2-3 the 67th Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article 4477-9a,
2-4 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), or a certificate of title showing
2-5 that the motor vehicle is not subject to a lien or that all
2-6 recorded liens on the motor vehicle have been released; or
2-7 (C) fails on receipt of a motor vehicle to
2-8 immediately remove an unexpired license plate from the motor
2-9 vehicle, to keep the plate in a secure and locked place, or to
2-10 maintain an inventory, on forms provided by the Texas Department of
2-11 Transportation, of license plates kept under this paragraph,
2-12 including for each plate or set of plates the license plate number
2-13 and the make, motor number, and vehicle identification number of
2-14 the motor vehicle from which the plate was removed; <and>
2-15 (7) an actor who purchases or receives a used or
2-16 secondhand motor vehicle is presumed to know on receipt by the
2-17 actor of the motor vehicle that the motor vehicle has been
2-18 previously stolen from another if the actor knowingly or
2-19 recklessly:
2-20 (A) fails to report to the Texas Department of
2-21 Transportation the failure of the person who sold or delivered the
2-22 motor vehicle to the actor to deliver to the actor a properly
2-23 executed certificate of title to the motor vehicle at the time the
2-24 motor vehicle was delivered; or
2-25 (B) fails to file with the county tax
2-26 assessor-collector of the county in which the actor received the
2-27 motor vehicle, not later than the 20th day after the date the actor
2-28 received the motor vehicle, the registration license receipt and
2-29 certificate of title or evidence of title delivered to the actor in
2-30 accordance with Section 2, Chapter 364, Acts of the 50th
2-31 Legislature, Regular Session, 1947 (Article 6687-6, Vernon's Texas
2-32 Civil Statutes), at the time the motor vehicle was delivered; and
2-33 (8) an actor who purchases or receives from any source
2-34 other than a licensed retailer or distributor of pesticides a
2-35 restricted-use pesticide or a state-limited-use pesticide or a
2-36 compound, mixture, or preparation containing a restricted-use or
2-37 state-limited-use pesticide is presumed to know on receipt by the
2-38 actor of the pesticide or compound, mixture, or preparation that
2-39 the pesticide or compound, mixture, or preparation has been
2-40 previously stolen from another if the actor:
2-41 (A) fails to record the name, address, and
2-42 physical description of the seller or pledgor;
2-43 (B) fails to record a complete description of
2-44 the amount and type of pesticide or compound, mixture, or
2-45 preparation purchased or received; and
2-46 (C) fails to obtain a signed warranty from the
2-47 seller or pledgor that the seller or pledgor has the right to
2-48 possess the property.
2-49 (g) In this section:
2-50 (1) "Restricted-use pesticide" means a pesticide
2-51 classified as a restricted-use pesticide by the administrator of
2-52 the Environmental Protection Agency under 7 U.S.C. Section 136a, as
2-53 that law existed on January 1, 1995, and containing an active
2-54 ingredient listed in the federal regulations adopted under that law
2-55 (40 C.F.R. Section 152.175) and in effect on that date.
2-56 (2) "State-limited-use pesticide" means a pesticide
2-57 classified as a state-limited-use pesticide by the Department of
2-58 Agriculture under Section 76.003, Agriculture Code, as that section
2-59 existed on January 1, 1995, and containing an active ingredient
2-60 listed in the rules adopted under that section (4 TAC Section 7.24)
2-61 as that section existed on that date.
2-62 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
2-63 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
2-64 Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
2-65 the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
2-66 before the effective date.
2-67 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
2-68 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
2-69 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
2-70 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
3-1 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
3-6 * * * * *