By Place                                        H.B. No. 1941

      75R5920 MI-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

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

 1-3     licenses held by persons convicted of poaching.

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

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter F, Chapter 12, Parks and Wildlife

 1-6     Code, is amended by adding Section 12.5015 to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 12.5015.  AUTOMATIC REVOCATION OF HUNTING OR FISHING

 1-8     LICENSE OR PERMIT.  (a)   Any hunting or fishing license or permit

 1-9     issued by the department to a person is automatically revoked on

1-10     final conviction of the person of an offense under Section 61.022.

1-11           (b)  The department may not issue any hunting or fishing

1-12     license or permit under this code for a period of one year after

1-13     the date of revocation to a person who has had a license or permit

1-14     revoked under this section.

1-15           (c)  A person who has a license revoked under this section

1-16     shall surrender the revoked license to the court.

1-17           (d)  The court shall send the department a copy of the

1-18     court's order revoking any license and any revoked license.

1-19           (e)  A justice of the peace court has jurisdiction over a

1-20     prosecution under Section 61.022 if the court would have had

1-21     jurisdiction in the absence of the license revocation sanction.

1-22           SECTION 2.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-23           (b)  The change in law made by this Act applies only to an

1-24     offense committed on or after September 1, 1997.  For purposes of

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

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

 2-3     committed before September 1, 1997, is covered by the law in effect

 2-4     when the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in

 2-5     effect for that purpose.

 2-6           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

 2-7     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-8     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-9     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-10     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.