By: Van de Putte  S.B. No. 1901
         (In the Senate - Filed March 9, 2007; March 22, 2007, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
  April 27, 2007, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
  Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0; April 27, 2007,
  sent to printer.)
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1901 By:  Seliger
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the creation of the offense of organized retail theft.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 31, Penal Code, is amended by adding
  Section 31.16 to read as follows:
         Sec. 31.16.  ORGANIZED RETAIL THEFT. (a)  In this section,
  "retail merchandise" means one or more items of tangible personal
  property displayed, held, stored, or offered for sale in a retail
  establishment.
         (b)  A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
  conducts, promotes, or facilitates an activity in which the person
  receives, possesses, conceals, stores, barters, sells, or disposes
  of a total value of not less than $1,500 of:
               (1)  stolen retail merchandise; or
               (2)  merchandise explicitly represented to the person
  as being stolen retail merchandise.
         (c)  An offense under this section is:
               (1)  a state jail felony if the total value of the
  merchandise involved in the activity is $1,500 or more but less than
  $20,000;
               (2)  a felony of the third degree if the total value of
  the merchandise involved in the activity is $20,000 or more but less
  than $100,000;
               (3)  a felony of the second degree if the total value of
  the merchandise involved in the activity is $100,000 or more but
  less than $200,000; or
               (4)  a felony of the first degree if the total value of
  the merchandise involved in the activity is $200,000 or more.
         (d)  An offense described for purposes of punishment by
  Subsections (c)(1), (2), and (3) is increased to the next higher
  category of offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that
  the person organized, supervised, financed, or managed one or more
  other persons engaged in an activity described by Subsection (b).
         SECTION 2.  Article 13.08, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Art. 13.08.  THEFT; ORGANIZED RETAIL THEFT. (a)  Where
  property is stolen in one county and removed by the offender to
  another county, the offender may be prosecuted either in the county
  where he took the property or in any other county through or into
  which he may have removed the same.
         (b)  An offense under Section 31.16, Penal Code, may be
  prosecuted in any county in which an underlying theft could have
  been prosecuted as a separate offense.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
 
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