1-1     By:  Merritt, Ramsay, et al. (Senate Sponsor-Harris)   H.B. No. 793

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 9, 1997;

 1-3     May 12, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on

 1-4     Jurisprudence; May 17, 1997, reported favorably by the following

 1-5     vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 17, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to notice that entry on property is forbidden for the

 1-9     purpose of prosecuting the offense of trespass.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 30.05(b), Penal Code, is amended by

1-12     amending Subdivision (2) and by adding Subdivision (4) to read as

1-13     follows:

1-14                 (2)  "Notice" means:

1-15                       (A)  oral or written communication by the owner

1-16     or someone with apparent authority to act for the owner;

1-17                       (B)  fencing or other enclosure obviously

1-18     designed to exclude intruders or to contain livestock;

1-19                       (C)  a sign or signs posted on the property or at

1-20     the entrance to the building, reasonably likely to come to the

1-21     attention of intruders, indicating that entry is forbidden;  [or]

1-22                       (D)  the placement of identifying purple paint

1-23     marks on trees or posts on the property, provided that the marks

1-24     are:

1-25                             (i)  vertical lines of not less than eight

1-26     inches in length and not less than one inch in width;

1-27                             (ii)  placed so that the bottom of the mark

1-28     is not less than three feet from the ground or more than five feet

1-29     from the ground; and

1-30                             (iii)  placed at locations that are readily

1-31     visible to any person approaching the property and no more than:

1-32                                            (a)  100 feet apart on

1-33     forest land; or

1-34                                            (b)  1,000 feet apart on

1-35     land other than forest land; or

1-36                       (E)  the visible presence on the property of a

1-37     crop grown for human consumption that is under cultivation, in the

1-38     process of being harvested, or marketable if harvested at the time

1-39     of entry.

1-40                 (4)  "Forest land" means land on which the trees are

1-41     potentially valuable for timber products.

1-42           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies

1-43     only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this

1-44     Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before

1-45     the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs

1-46     before the effective date.

1-47           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

1-48     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,

1-49     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

1-50           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-51           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-52     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-53     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-54     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-55     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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