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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to false or misleading packaging, labeling, or advertising |
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of certain abusable synthetic substances; providing criminal and |
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civil penalties. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 6, Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended by adding Chapter 484 to read as follows: |
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CHAPTER 484. ABUSABLE SYNTHETIC SUBSTANCES |
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Sec. 484.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: |
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(1) "Abusable synthetic substance" means a substance |
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that: |
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(A) is not otherwise regulated under this title |
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or under federal law; and |
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(B) when inhaled, ingested, or otherwise |
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introduced into a person's body, produces an effect on the central |
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nervous system, creates a condition of intoxication, |
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hallucination, or elation, or changes, distorts, or disturbs the |
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person's eyesight, thinking process, balance, or coordination. |
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(2) "Business" includes trade and commerce and |
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advertising, selling, and buying service or property. |
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(3) "Mislabeled" means varying from the standard of |
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truth or disclosure in labeling prescribed by law or set by |
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established commercial usage. |
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(4) "Sell" and "sale" include offer for sale, |
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advertise for sale, expose for sale, keep for the purpose of sale, |
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deliver for or after sale, solicit and offer to buy, and every |
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disposition for value. |
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Sec. 484.002. PROHIBITED ACTS. (a) A person commits an |
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offense if in the course of business the person sells a mislabeled |
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abusable synthetic substance. |
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(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor, |
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except that the offense is a Class A misdemeanor if it is shown on |
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the trial of the offense that the actor has previously been |
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convicted of an offense under this section or of an offense under |
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Section 32.42(b)(4), Penal Code, and the adulterated or mislabeled |
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commodity was an abusable synthetic substance. |
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(c) If conduct constituting an offense under this section |
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also constitutes an offense under another provision of law, the |
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person may be prosecuted under either this section or the other |
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provision. |
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Sec. 484.003. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) The attorney general or a |
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district, county, or city attorney may institute an action in |
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district court to collect a civil penalty from a person who commits |
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an offense under Section 484.002. |
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(b) The civil penalty may not exceed $25,000 a day for each |
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offense. Each day an offense is committed constitutes a separate |
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violation for purposes of the penalty assessment. |
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(c) The court shall consider the following in determining |
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the amount of the penalty: |
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(1) the person's history of any previous offenses |
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under Section 484.002 or under Section 32.42(b)(4), Penal Code, |
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relating to the sale of a mislabeled abusable synthetic substance; |
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(2) the seriousness of the offense; |
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(3) any hazard posed to the public health and safety by |
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the offense; and |
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(4) demonstrations of good faith by the person |
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charged. |
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(d) Venue for a suit brought under this section is in the |
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city or county in which the offense occurred or in Travis County. |
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(e) A civil penalty recovered in a suit instituted by a |
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local government under this section shall be paid to that local |
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government. |
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Sec. 484.004. NO DEFENSE. In a prosecution or civil action |
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under this chapter, the fact that the abusable synthetic substance |
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was in packaging labeled with "Not for Human Consumption," or other |
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wording indicating the substance is not intended to be ingested, is |
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not a defense. |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |