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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the punishment for a false affiliation with a |
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charitable organization or a false claim of a charitable purpose in |
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the course of committing certain crimes. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 31.03(f), Penal Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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(f) An offense described for purposes of punishment by |
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Subsections (e)(1)-(6) is increased to the next higher category of |
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offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that: |
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(1) the actor was a public servant at the time of the |
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offense and the property appropriated came into the actor's |
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custody, possession, or control by virtue of his status as a public |
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servant; |
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(2) the actor was in a contractual relationship with |
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government at the time of the offense and the property appropriated |
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came into the actor's custody, possession, or control by virtue of |
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the contractual relationship; |
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(3) the owner of the property appropriated was at the |
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time of the offense: |
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(A) an elderly individual; or |
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(B) a nonprofit organization; |
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(4) the actor was a Medicare provider in a contractual |
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relationship with the federal government at the time of the offense |
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and the property appropriated came into the actor's custody, |
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possession, or control by virtue of the contractual relationship; |
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[or] |
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(5) during the commission of the offense, the actor |
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intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly: |
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(A) caused a fire exit alarm to sound or |
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otherwise become activated; |
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(B) deactivated or otherwise prevented a fire |
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exit alarm or retail theft detector from sounding; or |
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(C) used a shielding or deactivation instrument |
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to prevent or attempt to prevent detection of the offense by a |
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retail theft detector; or |
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(6) during the commission of the offense, the actor |
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misrepresented, or misled another person to believe, that the actor |
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was soliciting a donation on behalf of a charitable organization or |
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that the proceeds of the solicitation would be used for charitable |
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purposes. |
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SECTION 2. Section 32.32, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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Subsection (f) to read as follows: |
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(f) An offense described for purposes of punishment by |
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Subsections (c)(1)-(6) is increased to the next higher category of |
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offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that during the |
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commission of the offense under Subsection (b), the actor |
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misrepresented, or misled another person to believe, that the |
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property or credit was intended for use by a charitable |
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organization or for charitable purposes. |
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SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |