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 * * * * *