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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the punishment for the offense of fraudulent |
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destruction, removal, or concealment of a writing that is attached |
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to tangible property; enhancing a criminal penalty. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 32.47, Penal Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (e) to read as |
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follows: |
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(c) Except as provided by [in] Subsection (d), an offense |
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under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, provided that: |
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(1) the writing is not attached to tangible property |
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to indicate the price for the sale of that property; and |
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(2) the actor did not engage in the conduct described |
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by Subsection (a) with respect to that writing for the purpose of |
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obtaining the property for a lesser price indicated by a separate |
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writing. |
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(e) If at the time of the offense the writing was attached to |
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tangible property to indicate the price for the sale of that |
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property and the actor engaged in the conduct described by |
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Subsection (a) with respect to that writing for the purpose of |
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obtaining the property for a lesser price indicated by a separate |
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writing, an offense under this section is: |
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(1) a Class C misdemeanor if the difference between |
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the impaired writing and the lesser price indicated by the other |
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writing is less than $100; |
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(2) a Class B misdemeanor if the difference between |
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the impaired writing and the lesser price indicated by the other |
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writing is $100 or more but less than $750; |
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(3) a Class A misdemeanor if the difference between |
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the impaired writing and the lesser price indicated by the other |
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writing is $750 or more but less than $2,500; |
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(4) a state jail felony if the difference between the |
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impaired writing and the lesser price indicated by the other |
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writing is $2,500 or more but less than $30,000; |
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(5) a felony of the third degree if the difference |
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between the impaired writing and the lesser price indicated by the |
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other writing is $30,000 or more but less than $150,000; |
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(6) a felony of the second degree if the difference |
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between the impaired writing and the lesser price indicated by the |
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other writing is $150,000 or more but less than $300,000; or |
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(7) a felony of the first degree if the difference |
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between the impaired writing and the lesser price indicated by the |
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other writing is $300,000 or more. |
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SECTION 2. 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |