By:  Barrientos                                        S.B. No. 430
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                       AN ACT
 1-1     relating to the punishment for certain Class C habitual offenders.
 1-2           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-3           SECTION 1.  Section 12.43, Penal Code, is amended to read as
 1-4     follows:
 1-5           Sec. 12.43.  PENALTIES FOR REPEAT AND HABITUAL MISDEMEANOR
 1-6     OFFENDERS.  (a)  If it is shown on the trial of a Class A
 1-7     misdemeanor that the defendant has been before convicted of a Class
 1-8     A misdemeanor or any degree of felony, on conviction he shall be
 1-9     punished by:
1-10                 (1)  a fine not to exceed $4,000;
1-11                 (2)  confinement in jail for any term of not more than
1-12     one year or less than 90 days; or
1-13                 (3)  both such fine and confinement.
1-14           (b)  If it is shown on the trial of a Class B misdemeanor
1-15     that the defendant has been before convicted of a Class A or Class
1-16     B misdemeanor or any degree of felony, on conviction he shall be
1-17     punished by:
1-18                 (1)  a fine not to exceed $2,000;
1-19                 (2)  confinement in jail for any term of not more than
1-20     180 days or less than 30 days; or
1-21                 (3)  both such fine and confinement.
1-22           (c)  If it is shown on the trial of an offense punishable as
1-23     a Class C misdemeanor under Section 42.01 or 49.02 that the
1-24     defendant has been before convicted under either of those sections
 2-1     three times or three times for any combination of those offenses
 2-2     and each prior offense was committed in the 24 months  preceding
 2-3     the date of commission of the instant offense, the defendant shall
 2-4     be punished by:
 2-5                 (1)  a fine not to exceed $2,000;
 2-6                 (2)  confinement in jail for a term not to exceed 180
 2-7     days; or
 2-8                 (3)  both such fine and confinement.
 2-9           (d)  If the punishment scheme for an offense contains a
2-10     specific enhancement provision increasing punishment for a
2-11     defendant who has previously been convicted of the offense, the
2-12     specific enhancement provision controls over this section.
2-13           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
2-14     only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
2-15     Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
2-16     the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
2-17     before the effective date.
2-18           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this
2-19     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
2-20     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
2-21           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-22           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-23     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-24     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-25     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-26     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.