Bill Text: TX HB37 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to the creation of the criminal offense of mail theft.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2019-06-10 - Effective on 9/1/19 [HB37 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB37-Enrolled.html
| H.B. No. 37 | ||
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| relating to the creation of the criminal offense of mail theft. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Chapter 31, Penal Code, is amended by adding | ||
| Section 31.20 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 31.20. MAIL THEFT. (a) In this section: | ||
| (1) "Disabled individual" and "elderly individual" | ||
| have the meanings assigned by Section 22.04. | ||
| (2) "Identifying information" has the meaning | ||
| assigned by Section 32.51. | ||
| (3) "Mail" means a letter, postal card, package, bag, | ||
| or other sealed article that: | ||
| (A) is delivered by a common carrier or delivery | ||
| service and not yet received by the addressee; or | ||
| (B) has been left to be collected for delivery by | ||
| a common carrier or delivery service. | ||
| (b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally | ||
| appropriates mail from another person's mailbox or premises without | ||
| the effective consent of the addressee and with the intent to | ||
| deprive that addressee of the mail. | ||
| (c) Except as provided by Subsections (d) and (e), an | ||
| offense under this section is: | ||
| (1) a Class A misdemeanor if the mail is appropriated | ||
| from fewer than 10 addressees; | ||
| (2) a state jail felony if the mail is appropriated | ||
| from at least 10 but fewer than 30 addressees; or | ||
| (3) a felony of the third degree if the mail is | ||
| appropriated from 30 or more addressees. | ||
| (d) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this | ||
| section that the appropriated mail contained an item of identifying | ||
| information and the actor committed the offense with the intent to | ||
| facilitate an offense under Section 32.51, an offense under this | ||
| section is: | ||
| (1) a state jail felony if the mail is appropriated | ||
| from fewer than 10 addressees; | ||
| (2) a felony of the third degree if the mail is | ||
| appropriated from at least 10 but fewer than 20 addressees; | ||
| (3) a felony of the second degree if the mail is | ||
| appropriated from at least 20 but fewer than 50 addressees; or | ||
| (4) a felony of the first degree if the mail is | ||
| appropriated from 50 or more addressees. | ||
| (e) An offense described for purposes of punishment by | ||
| Subsection (d)(1), (2), or (3) is increased to the next higher | ||
| category of offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that | ||
| at the time of the offense the actor knew or had reason to believe | ||
| that an addressee from whom the actor appropriated mail was a | ||
| disabled individual or an elderly individual. | ||
| (f) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this | ||
| section also constitutes an offense under another law, the actor | ||
| may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both. | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. | ||
| ______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
| President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
| I certify that H.B. No. 37 was passed by the House on May 8, | ||
| 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 135, Nays 2, 1 present, not | ||
| voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
| I certify that H.B. No. 37 was passed by the Senate on May 22, | ||
| 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| APPROVED: _____________________ | ||
| Date | ||
| _____________________ | ||
| Governor | ||
