By Turner of Coleman                                   H.B. No. 610
         Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
         Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to theft of retail water utility service.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1. Section 31.04, Penal Code, is amended by amending
 1-5     subsections (a)(2)-(3) and by adding new subsection (a)(4) to read
 1-6     as follows:
 1-7                 (2)  having control over the disposition of services of
 1-8     another to which he is not entitled, he intentionally or knowingly
 1-9     diverts the other's services to his own benefit or to the benefit
1-10     of another not entitled to them; [or]
1-11                 (3)  having control of personal property under a
1-12     written rental agreement, he holds the property beyond the
1-13     expiration of the rental period without the effective consent of
1-14     the owner of the property, thereby depriving the owner of the
1-15     property of its use in further rentals[.]; or
1-16                 (4)  for retail water utility service, altering a
1-17     meter, constructing a service line or other connection to the
1-18     distribution system, or any other use of water service facilities,
1-19     without the permission of the retail water utility.
1-20           SECTION 2. Section 31.04(b)(1), Penal Code, is amended to
1-21     read as follows:
1-22                 (1)  the actor absconded without paying for the service
 2-1     or expressly refused to pay for the service in circumstances where
 2-2     payment is ordinarily made immediately upon rendering of the
 2-3     service, as in hotels, campgrounds, recreational vehicle parks,
 2-4     restaurants, and comparable establishments[.] and, for retail water
 2-5     utility service, following a written request for payment from the
 2-6     retail water utility.
 2-7           SECTION 3. Section 31.04(e)(5)-(7), Penal Code, subsections
 2-8     (e)(5)-(7) are amended to read as follows:
 2-9                 (5)  a felony of the third degree if the value of the
2-10     service stolen is $20,000 or more but less than $100,000[;] and,
2-11     for retail water utility service, the value of the service stolen
2-12     is $500 or more but less than $750;
2-13                 (6)  a felony of the second degree if the value of the
2-14     service stolen is $100,000 or more but less than $200,000[; or]
2-15     and, for retail water utility service, the value of the service
2-16     stolen is $750 or more but less than $1,000; or
2-17                 (7)  a felony of the first degree if the value of the
2-18     service stolen is $200,000 or more[.] or, for retail water utility
2-19     service, the value of the service stolen is $1,000 or more.
2-20           SECTION 4. Section 31.01, Penal Code, is amended to add new
2-21     subsection (10) to read as follows:
2-22                 (10)  "Retail water utility service" has the definition
2-23     set forth at Section 13.002, Water Code.
2-24           SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
2-25           SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the crowded
2-26     condition of the calendars in both houses create an emergency and
 3-1     an imperative public necessity that the constitutional rule
 3-2     requiring bills to be read on three several days in each house be
 3-3     suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, and that this Act
 3-4     take effect and be in force according to its terms and it is so
 3-5     enacted.