By: Bettencourt  S.B. No. 2046
         (In the Senate - Filed March 7, 2025; March 17, 2025, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Local Government;
  April 10, 2025, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 4,
  Nays 1; April 10, 2025, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to penalties for certain offenses involving county
  competitive bidding requirements; increasing criminal penalties.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 262.034, Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 262.034.  CRIMINAL PENALTIES. (a) A county officer or
  employee commits an offense if the officer or employee
  intentionally or knowingly makes or authorizes separate,
  sequential, or component purchases to avoid the competitive bidding
  requirements of Section 262.023. An offense under this subsection
  is a Class A [B] misdemeanor, except that the offense is:
               (1)  a state jail felony if the purchases have an
  aggregated value of over $1 million but less than $5 million; and
               (2)  a felony of the third degree if the purchases have
  an aggregated value of $5 million or more.
         (b) [(c)]  A county officer or employee commits an offense if
  the officer or employee intentionally or knowingly violates this
  subchapter, other than by conduct described by Subsection (a). An
  offense under this subsection is a Class B [C] misdemeanor, except
  that the offense is:
               (1)  a Class A misdemeanor if the conduct involves a
  contract that has a value of over $1 million but less than $5
  million; and
               (2)  a state jail felony if the conduct involves a
  contract that has a value of $5 million or more.
         SECTION 2.  The changes in law made by this Act apply 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 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
 
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