79R4574 BDH-D

By:  Quintanilla                                                  H.B. No. 778



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the punishment for the crime of issuance of a bad check 
committed against an elderly person.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 32.41(f), Penal Code, is amended to read 
as follows:     
	(f)  Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, an 
offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.  An offense 
under this section is a Class B misdemeanor if [If] the check or 
similar sight order that was issued or passed:
		(1)  was for a child support payment the obligation for 
which is established under a court order; or
		(2)  was issued or passed to an elderly individual, as 
that term is defined by Section 22.04 [, the offense is a Class B 
misdemeanor].
	SECTION 2.  The change in law made 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 
governed 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 September 1, 2005.