By Harris                                        S.B. No. 143

      75R1485 JMC-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the punishment for the offense of cruelty to animals.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 42.09(d), Penal Code, is amended to read

 1-5     as follows:

 1-6           (d)  An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,

 1-7     except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the

 1-8     person has previously been convicted two times under this section.

 1-9           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies

1-10     only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this

1-11     Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before

1-12     the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs

1-13     before that date.

1-14           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

1-15     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,

1-16     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

1-17           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-18           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-19     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-20     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-21     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-22     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.