1-1     By:  Harris                                            S.B. No. 167

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed January 6, 1997; January 14, 1997,

 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on Economic Development;

 1-4     April 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 9,

 1-5     Nays 0; April 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to the offense of failing to pay the wages of an employee.

 1-9           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-10           SECTION 1.  Section 61.019, Labor Code, is amended by

1-11     amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read

1-12     as follows:

1-13           (b)  An employer commits an offense if the employer:

1-14                 (1)  intends to avoid payment of wages owed to an

1-15     employee;

1-16                 (2)  intends to continue to employ the employee; and

1-17                 (3)  fails after demand to pay those wages.

1-18           (c)  An employer commits a separate offense under Subsection

1-19     (b) for each pay period during which the employee earns wages that

1-20     the employer fails to pay.

1-21           (d)  An offense under this section is a felony of the third

1-22     degree.

1-23           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made to Section 61.019,

1-24     Labor Code, by this Act applies only to an offense committed on or

1-25     after the effective date of this Act.  For purposes of this

1-26     section, an offense is committed before the effective date of this

1-27     Act if any element of the offense occurs before that date.

1-28           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

1-29     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,

1-30     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

1-31           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-32           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-33     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-34     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-35     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-36     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

1-37                                  * * * * *