By Harris S.B. No. 441
75R4862 JRD-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the offense of theft when committed by a government
1-3 contractor.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 31.01(1), Penal Code, is amended to read
1-6 as follows:
1-7 (1) "Deception" means:
1-8 (A) creating or confirming by words or conduct a
1-9 false impression of law or fact that is likely to affect the
1-10 judgment of another in the transaction, and that the actor does not
1-11 believe to be true;
1-12 (B) failing to correct a false impression of law
1-13 or fact that is likely to affect the judgment of another in the
1-14 transaction, that the actor previously created or confirmed by
1-15 words or conduct, and that the actor does not now believe to be
1-16 true;
1-17 (C) preventing another from acquiring
1-18 information likely to affect his judgment in the transaction;
1-19 (D) selling or otherwise transferring or
1-20 encumbering property without disclosing a lien, security interest,
1-21 adverse claim, or other legal impediment to the enjoyment of the
1-22 property, whether the lien, security interest, claim, or impediment
1-23 is or is not valid, or is or is not a matter of official record;
1-24 [or]
2-1 (E) promising performance that is likely to
2-2 affect the judgment of another in the transaction and that the
2-3 actor does not intend to perform or knows will not be performed,
2-4 except that failure to perform the promise in issue without other
2-5 evidence of intent or knowledge is not sufficient proof that the
2-6 actor did not intend to perform or knew the promise would not be
2-7 performed; or
2-8 (F) knowingly breaching a promise to perform
2-9 that the actor made in a contract with a government.
2-10 SECTION 2. Section 31.03(c), Penal Code, is amended to read
2-11 as follows:
2-12 (c) For purposes of Subsection (b):
2-13 (1) evidence that the actor has previously
2-14 participated in recent transactions other than, but similar to,
2-15 that which the prosecution is based is admissible for the purpose
2-16 of showing knowledge or intent and the issues of knowledge or
2-17 intent are raised by the actor's plea of not guilty;
2-18 (2) the testimony of an accomplice shall be
2-19 corroborated by proof that tends to connect the actor to the crime,
2-20 but the actor's knowledge or intent may be established by the
2-21 uncorroborated testimony of the accomplice;
2-22 (3) an actor engaged in the business of buying and
2-23 selling used or secondhand personal property, or lending money on
2-24 the security of personal property deposited with him, is presumed
2-25 to know upon receipt by the actor of stolen property (other than a
2-26 motor vehicle subject to Chapter 501, Transportation Code [Article
2-27 6687-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes]) that the property has been
3-1 previously stolen from another if the actor pays for or loans
3-2 against the property $25 or more (or consideration of equivalent
3-3 value) and the actor knowingly or recklessly:
3-4 (A) fails to record the name, address, and
3-5 physical description or identification number of the seller or
3-6 pledgor;
3-7 (B) fails to record a complete description of
3-8 the property, including the serial number, if reasonably available,
3-9 or other identifying characteristics; or
3-10 (C) fails to obtain a signed warranty from the
3-11 seller or pledgor that the seller or pledgor has the right to
3-12 possess the property. It is the express intent of this provision
3-13 that the presumption arises unless the actor complies with each of
3-14 the numbered requirements;
3-15 (4) for the purposes of Subdivision (3)(A),
3-16 "identification number" means driver's license number, military
3-17 identification number, identification certificate, or other
3-18 official number capable of identifying an individual;
3-19 (5) stolen property does not lose its character as
3-20 stolen when recovered by any law enforcement agency;
3-21 (6) an actor engaged in the business of obtaining
3-22 abandoned or wrecked motor vehicles or parts of an abandoned or
3-23 wrecked motor vehicle for resale, disposal, scrap, repair,
3-24 rebuilding, demolition, or other form of salvage is presumed to
3-25 know on receipt by the actor of stolen property that the property
3-26 has been previously stolen from another if the actor knowingly or
3-27 recklessly:
4-1 (A) fails to maintain an accurate and legible
4-2 inventory of each motor vehicle component part purchased by or
4-3 delivered to the actor, including the date of purchase or delivery,
4-4 the name, age, address, sex, and driver's license number of the
4-5 seller or person making the delivery, the license plate number of
4-6 the motor vehicle in which the part was delivered, a complete
4-7 description of the part, and the vehicle identification number of
4-8 the motor vehicle from which the part was removed, or in lieu of
4-9 maintaining an inventory, fails to record the name and certificate
4-10 of inventory number of the person who dismantled the motor vehicle
4-11 from which the part was obtained;
4-12 (B) fails on receipt of a motor vehicle to
4-13 obtain a certificate of authority, sales receipt, or transfer
4-14 document as required by [Article V, Section 1,] Chapter 683,
4-15 Transportation Code [741, Acts of the 67th Legislature, Regular
4-16 Session, 1981 (Article 4477-9a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)], or
4-17 a certificate of title showing that the motor vehicle is not
4-18 subject to a lien or that all recorded liens on the motor vehicle
4-19 have been released; or
4-20 (C) fails on receipt of a motor vehicle to
4-21 immediately remove an unexpired license plate from the motor
4-22 vehicle, to keep the plate in a secure and locked place, or to
4-23 maintain an inventory, on forms provided by the Texas Department of
4-24 Transportation, of license plates kept under this paragraph,
4-25 including for each plate or set of plates the license plate number
4-26 and the make, motor number, and vehicle identification number of
4-27 the motor vehicle from which the plate was removed;
5-1 (7) an actor who purchases or receives a used or
5-2 secondhand motor vehicle is presumed to know on receipt by the
5-3 actor of the motor vehicle that the motor vehicle has been
5-4 previously stolen from another if the actor knowingly or
5-5 recklessly:
5-6 (A) fails to report to the Texas Department of
5-7 Transportation the failure of the person who sold or delivered the
5-8 motor vehicle to the actor to deliver to the actor a properly
5-9 executed certificate of title to the motor vehicle at the time the
5-10 motor vehicle was delivered; or
5-11 (B) fails to file with the county tax
5-12 assessor-collector of the county in which the actor received the
5-13 motor vehicle, not later than the 20th day after the date the actor
5-14 received the motor vehicle, the registration license receipt and
5-15 certificate of title or evidence of title delivered to the actor in
5-16 accordance with Subchapter D [Section 2], Chapter 520,
5-17 Transportation Code [364, Acts of the 50th Legislature, Regular
5-18 Session, 1947 (Article 6687-6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)], at
5-19 the time the motor vehicle was delivered; [and]
5-20 (8) an actor who purchases or receives from any source
5-21 other than a licensed retailer or distributor of pesticides a
5-22 restricted-use pesticide or a state-limited-use pesticide or a
5-23 compound, mixture, or preparation containing a restricted-use or
5-24 state-limited-use pesticide is presumed to know on receipt by the
5-25 actor of the pesticide or compound, mixture, or preparation that
5-26 the pesticide or compound, mixture, or preparation has been
5-27 previously stolen from another if the actor:
6-1 (A) fails to record the name, address, and
6-2 physical description of the seller or pledgor;
6-3 (B) fails to record a complete description of
6-4 the amount and type of pesticide or compound, mixture, or
6-5 preparation purchased or received; and
6-6 (C) fails to obtain a signed warranty from the
6-7 seller or pledgor that the seller or pledgor has the right to
6-8 possess the property; and
6-9 (9) an actor who knowingly misapplies property of
6-10 value the actor received under a contract between the actor and a
6-11 government is presumed to have unlawfully appropriated the property
6-12 and, for purposes of Subsection (a), is also presumed to have
6-13 intended to deprive the owner of the property, if the actor
6-14 knowingly misapplied the property in violation of the express terms
6-15 of the contract between the actor and the government.
6-16 SECTION 3. Chapter 13, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
6-17 amended by adding Article 13.26 to read as follows:
6-18 Art. 13.26. THEFT INVOLVING GOVERNMENTAL CONTRACT. The
6-19 offense of theft may be prosecuted in any county in which an
6-20 element of the offense occurs or in Travis County, if the actor was
6-21 in a contractual relationship with a state or local governmental
6-22 entity and the property stolen by the actor came into the actor's
6-23 possession because of the actor's contract with the governmental
6-24 entity.
6-25 SECTION 4. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
6-26 (b) The changes in law made by this Act apply only to an
6-27 offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For
7-1 purposes of this section, an offense is committed before the
7-2 effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
7-3 before that date.
7-4 (c) An offense committed before the effective date of this
7-5 Act is covered by the law in effect at the time the offense was
7-6 committed.
7-7 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
7-8 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-9 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-10 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-11 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.