Bill Text: TX HB1344 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the punishment for the offense of burglary of a vehicle; increasing a criminal penalty.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-05 - Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence [HB1344 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB1344-Introduced.html

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87R7031 MCF-D
By: Leach H.B. No. 1344

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the punishment for the offense of burglary of a vehicle;
increasing a criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 30.04(d) and (e), Penal Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(d) An offense under this section is a state jail felony
[Class A misdemeanor], except that:
(1) the offense is a state jail felony [Class A
misdemeanor] with a minimum term of confinement of one year [six
months] if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
defendant has been previously convicted of an offense under this
section;
(2) the offense is a [state jail] felony of the third
degree if[:
[(A)] it is shown on the trial of the
offense that the defendant has been previously convicted two or
more times of an offense under this section; [or
[(B) the vehicle or part of the vehicle
broken into or entered is a rail car;] and
(3) the offense is a felony of the second [third]
degree if:
(A) the vehicle broken into or entered is owned
or operated by a wholesale distributor of prescription drugs; and
(B) the actor breaks into or enters that vehicle
with the intent to commit theft of a controlled substance.
(e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
the actor:
(1) entered a rail car or any part of a rail car,
including a container or trailer carried on a rail car; and
(2) was at that time an employee or a representative of
employees exercising a right under the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C.
Section 151 et seq.).
SECTION 2. Article 42A.304(b), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(b) The amount of community service work ordered by the
judge may not exceed:
(1) 1,000 hours for an offense classified as a first
degree felony;
(2) 800 hours for an offense classified as a second
degree felony;
(3) 600 hours for:
(A) an offense classified as a third degree
felony; or
(B) an offense under Section 30.04, Penal Code,
classified as a state jail felony [Class A misdemeanor];
(4) 400 hours for an offense classified as a state jail
felony;
(5) 200 hours for:
(A) an offense classified as a Class A
misdemeanor, other than an offense described by Subdivision (3)(B);
or
(B) a misdemeanor for which the maximum
permissible confinement, if any, exceeds six months or the maximum
permissible fine, if any, exceeds $4,000; and
(6) 100 hours for:
(A) an offense classified as a Class B
misdemeanor; or
(B) a misdemeanor for which the maximum
permissible confinement, if any, does not exceed six months and the
maximum permissible fine, if any, does not exceed $4,000.
SECTION 3. Sections 12.50(b) and (c), Penal Code, as
amended by Chapters 418 (S.B. 201) and 1058 (H.B. 1028), Acts of the
86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, are reenacted and amended
to read as follows:
(b) The increase in punishment authorized by this section
applies only to an offense under:
(1) Section 22.01;
(2) Section 28.02;
(3) Section 29.02;
(4) Section 30.02;
(5) Section 30.03;
(6) Section 30.04;
(7) Section 30.05; and
(8) Section 31.03.
(c) If an offense listed under Subsection (b)(1), (5),
[(6),] (7), or (8) is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor, the
minimum term of confinement for the offense is increased to 180
days. If an offense listed under Subsection (b)(2), (4), or (8) is
punishable as a felony of the first degree, the punishment for that
offense may not be increased under this section.
SECTION 4. The following provisions are repealed:
(1) Article 42A.057, Code of Criminal Procedure; and
(2) Section 30.04(c), Penal Code.
SECTION 5. 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 when 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 6. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.