By: Staples S.B. No. 437
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the offense of theft of service.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subsections (a), (b), and (c), Section 31.04,
1-5 Penal Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-6 (a) A person commits theft of service if, with intent to
1-7 avoid payment for service that he knows is provided only for
1-8 compensation:
1-9 (1) he intentionally or knowingly secures performance
1-10 of the service by deception, threat, or false token;
1-11 (2) having control over the disposition of services of
1-12 another to which he is not entitled, he intentionally or knowingly
1-13 diverts the other's services to his own benefit or to the benefit
1-14 of another not entitled to them; [or]
1-15 (3) having control of personal property under a
1-16 written rental agreement, he holds the property beyond the
1-17 expiration of the rental period without the effective consent of
1-18 the owner of the property, thereby depriving the owner of the
1-19 property of its use in further rentals; or
1-20 (4) he intentionally or knowingly secures the
1-21 performance of the service by agreeing to provide compensation and,
1-22 after the service is rendered, fails to make payment after
1-23 receiving notice demanding payment.
1-24 (b) For purposes of this section, intent to avoid payment is
1-25 presumed if:
2-1 (1) the actor absconded without paying for the service
2-2 or expressly refused to pay for the service in circumstances where
2-3 payment is ordinarily made immediately upon rendering of the
2-4 service, as in hotels, campgrounds, recreational vehicle parks,
2-5 restaurants, and comparable establishments;
2-6 (2) the actor failed to return the property held under
2-7 a rental agreement or failed to make payment under a service
2-8 agreement within 10 days after receiving notice demanding return;
2-9 or
2-10 (3) the actor returns property held under a rental
2-11 agreement after the expiration of the rental agreement and fails to
2-12 pay the applicable rental charge for the property within 10 days
2-13 after the date on which the actor received notice demanding
2-14 payment.
2-15 (c) For purposes of Subsections (a)(4) and [Subsection]
2-16 (b)(2), notice shall be notice in writing, sent by registered or
2-17 certified mail with return receipt requested or by telegram with
2-18 report of delivery requested, and addressed to the actor at his
2-19 address shown on the rental agreement or service agreement.
2-20 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
2-21 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
2-22 Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
2-23 the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
2-24 before the effective date.
2-25 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
2-26 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
3-1 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
3-2 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.