Bill Text: TX HB683 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to the prosecution of the offense of possession or use of law enforcement identification, insignia, or vehicles in a municipality and the clarification of the offenses of false identification as a peace officer and misrepresentation of property.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-2)
Status: (Passed) 2017-06-15 - Effective on 9/1/17 [HB683 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB683-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relating to the prosecution of the offense of possession or use of law enforcement identification, insignia, or vehicles in a municipality and the clarification of the offenses of false identification as a peace officer and misrepresentation of property.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-2)
Status: (Passed) 2017-06-15 - Effective on 9/1/17 [HB683 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB683-Introduced.html
85R3267 PAM-D | ||
By: Wu | H.B. No. 683 |
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relating to the creation of the offense of possession or use of law | ||
enforcement identification, insignia, or vehicles in certain | ||
populous municipalities and the clarification of the offenses of | ||
false identification as a peace officer and misrepresentation of | ||
property. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 341.904(b), Local Government Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) In a municipality with a population of 750,000 [ |
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intentionally or knowingly: | ||
(1) uses, possesses, or wears: | ||
(A) a police identification item of the municipal | ||
police department; | ||
(B) an item bearing the insignia or design | ||
prescribed by the police chief of the municipality for officers and | ||
employees of the municipal police department to use while engaged | ||
in official activities; or | ||
(C) within the municipal police department's | ||
jurisdiction, an item that is deceptively similar to a police | ||
identification item of the department; | ||
(2) uses, within the municipal police department's | ||
jurisdiction, the name of the department in connection with an | ||
object to create the appearance that the object belongs to or is | ||
used by the department; or | ||
(3) uses, possesses, or operates, within the municipal | ||
police department's jurisdiction, a marked patrol vehicle that is | ||
deceptively similar to a department patrol vehicle. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 37.12, Penal Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsection (c-1) to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(a) A person commits an offense if: | ||
(1) the person makes, provides to another person, or | ||
possesses a card, document, badge, insignia, shoulder emblem, or | ||
other item, including a vehicle, bearing an insignia of a law | ||
enforcement agency that identifies a person as a peace officer or a | ||
reserve law enforcement officer; and | ||
(2) the person who makes, provides, or possesses the | ||
item bearing the insignia knows that the person so identified by the | ||
item is not commissioned as a peace officer or reserve law | ||
enforcement officer as indicated on the item. | ||
(c-1) For purposes of this section, an item bearing an | ||
insignia of a law enforcement agency includes an item that contains | ||
the word "police," "sheriff," "constable," "trooper," "ranger," | ||
"agent," or any other designation commonly used by law enforcement | ||
agencies in this state. | ||
(d) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally | ||
or knowingly misrepresents an object, including a vehicle, as | ||
property belonging to a law enforcement agency. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 37.12, Penal Code, as amended by this | ||
Act, is a clarification of existing law and does not imply that | ||
existing law may be construed as inconsistent with the law as | ||
amended by this Act. | ||
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |