1-1     By:  Van de Putte, Seaman (Senate Sponsor - West)      H.B. No. 751
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 28, 1999;
 1-3     April 29, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Criminal Justice; May 11, 1999, reported favorably by the following
 1-5     vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 11, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to the prosecution of the offense of graffiti.
 1-9           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-10           SECTION 1.  Sections 28.08(a) and (e), Penal Code, are
1-11     amended to read as follows:
1-12           (a)  A person commits an offense if, [with aerosol paint or
1-13     an indelible marker and] without the effective consent of the
1-14     owner, the person intentionally or knowingly makes markings,
1-15     including inscriptions, slogans, drawings, or paintings, on the
1-16     tangible property of the owner with:
1-17                 (1)  aerosol paint;
1-18                 (2)  an indelible marker; or
1-19                 (3)  an etching or engraving device.
1-20           (e)  In this section:
1-21                 (1)  "Aerosol paint" means an aerosolized paint
1-22     product.
1-23                 (2)  "Etching or engraving device" means a device that
1-24     makes a delineation or  impression on tangible property, regardless
1-25     of the manufacturer's intended use for that device.
1-26                 (3)  "Indelible marker" means a device that makes a
1-27     mark with a paint or ink product that is specifically formulated to
1-28     be more difficult  to erase, wash out, or remove than ordinary
1-29     paint or ink products.
1-30           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.  The
1-31     change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed
1-32     on or after the effective date of this Act.  An offense committed
1-33     before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in
1-34     effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
1-35     continued in effect for that purpose.  For purposes of this
1-36     section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this
1-37     Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
1-38           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
1-39     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-40     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-41     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-42     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
1-43                                  * * * * *