Bill Text: TX HB690 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Relating to the punishment for the offense of graffiti.

Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-04-20 - Referred to Criminal Justice [HB690 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB690-Engrossed.html

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By: Martinez Fischer, Hartnett, Bohac, H.B. No. 690
Farias

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the punishment for the offense of graffiti.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 28.08(d), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(d) An offense under this section is a state jail felony if:
(1) the marking is made on a school, an institution of
higher education, a place of worship or human burial, a public
monument, a historic structure, or a community center that provides
medical, social, or educational programs; and
(2) the amount of the pecuniary loss to real property
or to tangible personal property is less than $20,000.
SECTION 2. Section 28.08(e), Penal Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (2-a) to read as follows:
(2-a) "Historic structure" means a structure that:
(A) is publicly owned and included on the
National Register of Historic Places;
(B) is designated as a Recorded Texas Historic
Landmark; or
(C) is designated as a State Archeological
Landmark.
SECTION 3. Section 54.0481, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to
read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), a [A] juvenile
court, in a disposition hearing under Section 54.04 regarding a
child who has been adjudicated to have engaged in delinquent
conduct that violates Section 28.08, Penal Code:
(1) may order the child or a parent or other person
responsible for the child's support to make restitution by:
(A) reimbursing the owner of the property for the
cost of restoring the property; or
(B) with the consent of the owner of the
property, personally restoring the property by removing or painting
over any markings the child made; and
(2) if the child made markings on public property, a
street sign, or an official traffic-control device in violation of
Section 28.08, Penal Code, may order the child or a parent or other
person responsible for the child's support to:
(A) make to the political subdivision that owns
the public property or erected the street sign or official
traffic-control device restitution in an amount equal to the lesser
of the cost to the political subdivision of replacing or restoring
the public property, street sign, or official traffic-control
device; or
(B) with the consent of the political
subdivision, restore the public property, street sign, or official
traffic-control device by removing or painting over any markings
made by the child on the property, sign, or device.
(a-1) A juvenile court, in a disposition hearing described
by Subsection (a) involving a child who has previously been
adjudicated for having engaged in delinquent conduct that violates
Section 28.08, Penal Code, in addition to any other disposition
ordered, if the child made markings on a historic structure or other
property described in Section 28.08(d), Penal Code, or private
property, shall order the child and the parent or other person
responsible for the child's support to make restitution by
personally restoring the property by removing or painting over any
markings the child made, with the consent of the owner of the
property.
(a-2) A juvenile court may not require that a child or a
child's parent or other person responsible for the child's support
personally restore the property under this section if:
(1) the child, parent, or other person is physically
or mentally incapable of participating in the restoration; or
(2) the restoration is inherently dangerous or would
otherwise endanger the health or safety of the child, parent, or
other person.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act to Section
54.0481, Family Code, applies only to conduct violating a penal law
that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. Conduct
violating a penal law that occurs before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct
occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose. For purposes of this section, conduct violating a penal
law occurred before the effective date of this Act if any element of
the violation occurred before that date.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
28.08(d) and (e), Penal Code, 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 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.