79R6319 KCR-D

By:  Miller                                                       H.B. No. 1574



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the offense of fraudulent use or possession of a 
deceased person's identifying information.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Sections 32.51(b) and (c), Penal Code, are 
amended to read as follows:
	(b)  A person commits an offense if the person, with the 
intent to harm or defraud another, obtains, possesses, transfers, 
or uses identifying information of:
		(1)  a deceased natural person, including a stillborn 
infant or fetus, without legal authorization; or
		(2)  another person without the other person's consent 
[and with intent to harm or defraud another].
	(c)  An offense under Subsection (b)(1) is a felony of the 
third degree, and an offense under Subsection (b)(2) [this section] 
is a state jail felony.
	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 
covered by the law in effect at the time 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.