By:  Harris                                            S.B. No. 167

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to the offense of failing to pay the wages of an employee.

 1-2           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-3           SECTION 1.  Section 61.019, Labor Code, is amended by

 1-4     amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read

 1-5     as follows:

 1-6           (b)  An employer commits an offense if the employer:

 1-7                 (1)  intends to avoid payment of wages owed to an

 1-8     employee;

 1-9                 (2)  intends to continue to employ the employee; and

1-10                 (3)  fails after demand to pay those wages.

1-11           (c)  An employer commits a separate offense under Subsection

1-12     (b) for each pay period during which the employee earns wages that

1-13     the employer fails to pay.

1-14           (d)  An offense under this section is a felony of the third

1-15     degree.

1-16           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made to Section 61.019,

1-17     Labor Code, by this Act applies only to an offense committed on or

1-18     after the effective date of this Act.  For purposes of this

1-19     section, an offense is committed before the effective date of this

1-20     Act if any element of the offense occurs before that date.

1-21           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

1-22     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,

1-23     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

 2-1           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 2-2           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

 2-3     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-4     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-5     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-6     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.