By Place                                              H.B. No. 1941

         75R13153 E                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the automatic revocation of hunting and fishing

 1-3     licenses held by and denial of issuance of hunting and fishing

 1-4     licenses to persons convicted of poaching.

 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-6           SECTION 1.  Subchapter F, Chapter 12, Parks and Wildlife

 1-7     Code, is amended by adding Section 12.5015 to read as follows:

 1-8           Sec. 12.5015.  AUTOMATIC REVOCATION AND DENIAL OF ISSUANCE OF

 1-9     HUNTING OR FISHING LICENSE OR PERMIT.  (a)  Any hunting or fishing

1-10     license or permit issued by the department to a person is

1-11     automatically revoked on conviction of the person of an offense

1-12     under Section 61.022.

1-13           (b)  If the holder of a lifetime license is finally convicted

1-14     of an offense under Section 61.022, the person's lifetime license

1-15     is automatically suspended.  The suspension period is for one year

1-16     after the date of conviction.

1-17           (c)  The department may not issue any hunting or fishing

1-18     license or permit under this code for a period of one year after

1-19     the date of conviction to a person finally convicted of an offense

1-20     under Section 61.022.

1-21           (d)  A person who has a license revoked under this section

1-22     shall surrender the revoked license to the court.

1-23           (e)  The clerk of court shall send the department a copy of

1-24     the final judgment of conviction.

 2-1           (f)  A justice of the peace court has jurisdiction over a

 2-2     prosecution under Section 61.022 if the court would have had

 2-3     jurisdiction in the absence of the license revocation sanction.

 2-4           SECTION 2.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 2-5           (b)  The change in law made by this Act applies only to an

 2-6     offense committed on or after September 1, 1997.  For purposes of

 2-7     this section an offense is committed before September 1, 1997, if

 2-8     any element of the offense occurs before that date.   An offense

 2-9     committed before September 1, 1997, is covered by the law in effect

2-10     when the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in

2-11     effect for that purpose.

2-12           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-13     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-14     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-15     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-16     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.