1-1     By:  King of Parker, Morrison, et al.                 H.B. No. 1798
 1-2          (Senate Sponsor - Harris)
 1-3           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 1999;
 1-4     May 12, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
 1-5     Justice; May 14, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:
 1-6     Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 14, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-7                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-8                                   AN ACT
 1-9     relating to the prosecution of theft of services provided at
1-10     certain service establishments.
1-11           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12           SECTION 1.  Section 31.04(b), Penal Code, is amended to read
1-13     as follows:
1-14           (b)  For purposes of this section, intent to avoid payment is
1-15     presumed if:
1-16                 (1)  the actor absconded without paying for the service
1-17     or expressly refused to pay for the service in circumstances where
1-18     payment is ordinarily made immediately upon rendering of the
1-19     service, as in hotels, campgrounds, recreational vehicle parks,
1-20     restaurants, and comparable establishments;
1-21                 (2)  the actor failed to return the property held under
1-22     a rental agreement within 10 days after receiving notice demanding
1-23     return; or
1-24                 (3)  the actor returns property held under a rental
1-25     agreement after the expiration of the rental agreement and fails to
1-26     pay the applicable rental charge for the property within 10 days
1-27     after the date on which the actor received notice demanding
1-28     payment.
1-29           SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this  Act applies only
1-30     to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
1-31     An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
1-32     covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and
1-33     the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.  For
1-34     purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
1-35     effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
1-36     before that date.
1-37           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
1-38           SECTION 4.  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                                  * * * * *