By:  Berman (Senate Sponsor - Eltife)                             H.B. No. 126
	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 25, 2005; 
April 26, 2005, read first time and referred to Committee on 
Education; May 16, 2005, reported adversely, with favorable 
Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0; 
May 16, 2005, sent to printer.)


COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 126                                    By:  Van de Putte


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT


relating to the penalty for tampering with a governmental record 
establishing residency for enrollment in a public school.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 37.10(c), Penal Code, is amended to read 
as follows:     
	(c)(1)  Except as provided by Subdivisions [Subdivision] (2) 
and (3) and by Subsection (d), an offense under this section is a 
Class A misdemeanor unless the actor's intent is to defraud or harm 
another, in which event the offense is a state jail felony.
		(2)  An offense under this section is a felony of the 
third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the 
governmental record was a public school record, report, or 
assessment instrument required under Chapter 39, Education Code, or 
was a license, certificate, permit, seal, title, letter of patent, 
or similar document issued by government, by another state, or by 
the United States, unless the actor's intent is to defraud or harm 
another, in which event the offense is a felony of the second 
degree.
		(3)  An offense under this section is a Class C 
misdemeanor if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the 
governmental record is a governmental record that is required for 
enrollment of a student in a school district and was used by the 
actor to establish the residency of the student.
	SECTION 2.  Section 37.10(c), Penal Code, as amended by this 
Act, applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective 
date of this Act.  An offense committed before the effective date of 
this Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was 
committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that 
purpose.  For purposes of this section, an offense was committed 
before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense 
was committed before that date.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.



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