By Van de Putte                                        H.B. No. 751
         76R228 KEL-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the prosecution of the offense of graffiti.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1.  Sections 28.08(a) and (e), Penal Code, are
 1-5     amended to read as follows:
 1-6           (a)  A person commits an offense if, [with aerosol paint or
 1-7     an indelible marker and] without the effective consent of the
 1-8     owner, the person intentionally or knowingly makes markings,
 1-9     including inscriptions, slogans, drawings, or paintings, on the
1-10     tangible property of the owner with:
1-11                 (1)  aerosol paint;
1-12                 (2)  an indelible marker; or
1-13                 (3)  an etching or engraving device.
1-14           (e)  In this section:
1-15                 (1)  "Aerosol paint" means an aerosolized paint
1-16     product.
1-17                 (2)  "Etching or engraving device" means a device that
1-18     makes a delineation or  impression on tangible property, regardless
1-19     of the manufacturer's intended use for that device.
1-20                 (3)  "Indelible marker" means a device that makes a
1-21     mark with a paint or ink product that is specifically formulated to
1-22     be more difficult  to erase, wash out, or remove than ordinary
1-23     paint or ink products.
1-24           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.  The
 2-1     change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed
 2-2     on or after the effective date of this Act.  An offense committed
 2-3     before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in
 2-4     effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
 2-5     continued in effect for that purpose.  For purposes of this
 2-6     section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this
 2-7     Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
 2-8           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
 2-9     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-10     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-11     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-12     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.