1-1     By:  Van de Putte, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Nelson)    H.B. No. 749
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House March 31, 1999;
 1-3     April 6, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Economic Development; May 6, 1999, reported adversely, with
 1-5     favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays
 1-6     0; May 6, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-7     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 749                  By:  Jackson
 1-8                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-9                                   AN ACT
1-10     relating to the sale of certain items at a flea market; providing a
1-11     penalty.
1-12           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13           SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 35, Business & Commerce
1-14     Code, is amended by adding Section 35.55 to read as follows:
1-15           Sec. 35.55.  SALE OF ITEMS AT FLEA MARKET.  (a) In this
1-16     section, "flea market" means a location at which booths or similar
1-17     spaces are rented or otherwise made available temporarily to two or
1-18     more persons and at which the persons offer tangible personal
1-19     property for sale.
1-20           (b)  In addition to any other sanctions provided by law, a
1-21     person commits an offense if the person sells or offers for sale at
1-22     a flea market:
1-23                 (1)  infant formula or baby food of a type usually
1-24     consumed by children younger than two years of age;
1-25                 (2)  a drug, as defined by Section 431.002, Health and
1-26     Safety Code; or
1-27                 (3)  contact lenses, including disposable contact
1-28     lenses.
1-29           (c)  A person does not commit an offense under this section
1-30     solely because the person provides spaces at a flea market.
1-31           (d)  It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b)
1-32     that:
1-33                 (1)  the person selling the item:
1-34                       (A)  is authorized in writing to sell the item at
1-35     retail by the manufacturer of the item or the manufacturer's
1-36     authorized distributor;
1-37                       (B)  the authorization states the person's name;
1-38     and
1-39                       (C)  the person provides for examination the
1-40     authorization to any person at the flea market who requests to see
1-41     the authorization; or
1-42                 (2)  only a sample of the item or a catalog or brochure
1-43     displaying the item was available at the flea market and the item
1-44     sold was not delivered to the buyer at the flea market.
1-45           (e)  A person commits an offense if the person provides to
1-46     another person an authorization under Subsection (d)(1) and:
1-47                 (1)  the authorization is forged or contains a false
1-48     statement; or
1-49                 (2)  the person displaying the authorization obtained
1-50     the authorization by fraud.
1-51           (f)  An offense under this section is a misdemeanor
1-52     punishable by a fine of not more than $100.
1-53           (g)  A law enforcement agency investigating a violation of
1-54     this section shall maintain a record of the investigation.  The
1-55     record is public information.
1-56           (h)  This section does not apply to the sale or offer for
1-57     sale of a nutritional supplement or vitamin.
1-58           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
1-59           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
1-60     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-61     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-62     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-63     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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