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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to definitions for purposes of gambling criminal offenses. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 47.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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Subdivision (2-a) and amending Subdivision (8) to read as follows: |
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(2-a) "Economic benefit" means direct winnings from a |
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game of skill or luck. The term does not include a benefit received |
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before a game commences or after payment of the direct winnings from |
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the game. |
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(8) "Private place" means a place to which the public |
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does not have access without a valid membership, special |
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invitation, or prior grant of permission[,] and excludes, among |
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other places, streets, highways, restaurants, taverns, nightclubs, |
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schools, hospitals, and the common areas of apartment houses, |
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hotels, motels, office buildings, transportation facilities, and |
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shops. |
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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, 2023. |