82R5133 NAJ-D

By: Martinez Fischer H.B. No. 690

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the punishment for the offense of graffiti.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 28.08(d), Penal Code, is amended to read

as follows:

(d) An offense under this section is a state jail felony if:

(1) the marking is made on a school, an institution of

higher education, a place of worship or human burial, a public

monument, a historic structure or property, or a community center

that provides medical, social, or educational programs; and

(2) the amount of the pecuniary loss to real property

or to tangible personal property is less than $20,000.

SECTION 2. Section 28.08(e), Penal Code, is amended by

adding Subdivision (2-a) to read as follows:

(2-a) "Historic structure or property" has the meaning

assigned by Section 315.006, Local Government 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

governed by the law in effect on the date 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 occurred

before that date.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.