By Gray                                         H.B. No. 1494

      75R2478 JD-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the prosecution of and the penalty for the offense of

 1-3     tampering with identification numbers.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 31.11, Penal Code, is amended by amending

 1-6     Subsections (b) and (d), redesignating Subsection (e) as Subsection

 1-7     (f), and adding a new Subsection (e) to read as follows:

 1-8           (b)  It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this

 1-9     section that the person was:

1-10                 (1)  the owner or acting with the effective consent of

1-11     the owner of the property involved, and the item of property is not

1-12     property described by Subsection (e);

1-13                 (2)  a peace officer acting in the actual discharge of

1-14     official duties; or

1-15                 (3)  acting with respect to a number assigned to a

1-16     vehicle by the Texas Department of Transportation and the person

1-17     was:

1-18                       (A)  in the actual discharge of official duties

1-19     as an employee or agent of the department; or

1-20                       (B)  in full compliance with the rules of the

1-21     department as an applicant for an assigned number approved by the

1-22     department.

1-23           (d)  Except as provided by Subsection (e), an  [An] offense

1-24     under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

 2-1           (e)  An offense under this section is a state jail felony if

 2-2     the item of property involved is:

 2-3                 (1)  a vehicle or part of a vehicle;

 2-4                 (2)  an aircraft, boat, or part of an aircraft or boat;

 2-5     or

 2-6                 (3)  a firearm or part of a firearm.

 2-7           (f) [(e)]  In this section:

 2-8                 (1)  "Firearm" has the meaning assigned that term by

 2-9     Section 46.01.

2-10                 (2)  "Vehicle" [, "vehicle"] has the meaning assigned

2-11     that term [given] by Section 541.201, Transportation Code, and

2-12     includes a tractor, farm implement, unit of special mobile

2-13     equipment, or unit of off-road construction equipment that is not

2-14     subject to Chapter 501, Transportation Code [Section 2, Uniform Act

2-15     Regulating Traffic on Highways (Article 6701d, Vernon's Texas Civil

2-16     Statutes)].

2-17           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.  The

2-18     change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed

2-19     on or after the effective date of this Act.  An offense committed

2-20     before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in

2-21     effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is

2-22     continued in effect for that purpose.  For purposes of this

2-23     section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this

2-24     Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.

2-25           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-26     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-27     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 3-1     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 3-2     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.