By Haywood                                       S.B. No. 169

      75R1180 MWV-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to lottery tickets stolen from a lottery sales agent.

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

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 466.353, Government Code, is amended to

 1-5     read as follows:

 1-6           Sec. 466.353.  LIABILITY OF SALES AGENT.         (a)  Except

 1-7     as provided by Subsection (c), a [A] sales agent is liable to the

 1-8     division for all tickets accepted or generated by the sales agent

 1-9     or any employee or agent of the sales agent, and tickets shall be

1-10     deemed to have been purchased by the sales agent unless returned to

1-11     the division within the time and manner prescribed by the division.

1-12           (b)  Money received by a sales agent from the sales of

1-13     tickets, less the amount retained for prizes paid by the sales

1-14     agent or for the agent's commission, if any, together with any

1-15     unsold tickets, shall be held in trust for the benefit of the state

1-16     before delivery to a lottery operator or the division or electronic

1-17     transfer to the state treasury, and the sales agent is liable to

1-18     the division for the full amount of the money or unsold tickets so

1-19     held.  If the sales agent is not an individual, each officer,

1-20     director, or owner of the sales agent is personally liable to the

1-21     division for the full amount of the money or unsold tickets held in

1-22     trust for the benefit of the state.

1-23           (c)  A sales agent is not liable to the division for a ticket

1-24     stolen from the sales agent if:

 2-1                 (1)  after the sales agent discovers that the ticket is

 2-2     no longer in the sales agent's possession, the sales agent provides

 2-3     the division with prompt written notice regarding a possible theft

 2-4     of the ticket;

 2-5                 (2)  the stolen ticket is not redeemed for a prize; and

 2-6                 (3)  without regard to the condition of a ticket, the

 2-7     stolen ticket is returned to the division not later than the 180th

 2-8     day after the date the sales agent provides the division with

 2-9     written notice that the ticket has been stolen.

2-10           (d)  The commission shall redistribute to sales agents all

2-11     previously stolen tickets that have been returned in an undamaged

2-12     condition to the division if the commission determines that the

2-13     redistribution of tickets does not affect the integrity of the

2-14     operation of a lottery game.

2-15           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

2-16     applies only to a lottery ticket reported to the Lottery Commission

2-17     as stolen on or after that date.  A lottery ticket reported as

2-18     stolen before the effective date of this Act is covered by the

2-19     former law in effect when the ticket was stolen and that law is

2-20     continued in effect for that purpose.

2-21           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-22     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-23     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-24     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-25     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.