By: Darby, et al. H.B. No. 671
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 671By:  Seliger By:  Seliger
         (In the Senate - Received from the House April 22, 2009;
  May 1, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
  Justice; May 23, 2009, reported adversely, with favorable
  Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0;
  May 23, 2009, sent to printer.)
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the penalty for theft from a nonprofit organization or
  by Medicare providers.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subsection (f), Section 31.03, Penal Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (f)  An offense described for purposes of punishment by
  Subsections (e)(1)-(6) is increased to the next higher category of
  offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that:
               (1)  the actor was a public servant at the time of the
  offense and the property appropriated came into the actor's
  custody, possession, or control by virtue of his status as a public
  servant;
               (2)  the actor was in a contractual relationship with
  government at the time of the offense and the property appropriated
  came into the actor's custody, possession, or control by virtue of
  the contractual relationship; or
               (3)  the owner of the property appropriated was at the
  time of the offense:
                     (A)  an elderly individual; or
                     (B)  a nonprofit organization; or
               (4)  the actor was a Medicare provider in a contractual
  relationship with the federal government at the time of the offense
  and the property appropriated came into the actor's custody,
  possession, or control by virtue of the contractual relationship.
         SECTION 2.  Section 31.03(h), Penal Code, is amended by
  adding Subdivision (3) to read as follows:
               (3)  "Nonprofit organization" means an organization
  that is exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501(a),
  Internal Revenue Code of 1986, by being described as an exempt
  organization by Section 501(c)(3) of that code.
         SECTION 3.  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 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 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
 
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