Bill Text: TX SB46 | 2023 | 88th Legislature 4th Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of criminal mischief involving tampering with a state-owned barrier or part of a barrier used to prevent travel across the international border of this state.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-12-01 - Filed [SB46 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SB46-Introduced.html
| 88S40293 SHH-D | ||
| By: Hall | S.B. No. 46 | |
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| relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of | ||
| criminal mischief involving tampering with a state-owned barrier or | ||
| part of a barrier used to prevent travel across the international | ||
| border of this state. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 28.03, Penal Code, is amended by | ||
| amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (l) to read as | ||
| follows: | ||
| (b) Except as provided by Subsections (f), [ |
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| (l), an offense under this section is: | ||
| (1) a Class C misdemeanor if: | ||
| (A) the amount of pecuniary loss is less than | ||
| $100; or | ||
| (B) except as provided in Subdivision (3)(A) or | ||
| (3)(B), it causes substantial inconvenience to others; | ||
| (2) a Class B misdemeanor if the amount of pecuniary | ||
| loss is $100 or more but less than $750; | ||
| (3) a Class A misdemeanor if: | ||
| (A) the amount of pecuniary loss is $750 or more | ||
| but less than $2,500; or | ||
| (B) the actor causes in whole or in part | ||
| impairment or interruption of any public water supply, or causes to | ||
| be diverted in whole, in part, or in any manner, including | ||
| installation or removal of any device for any such purpose, any | ||
| public water supply, regardless of the amount of the pecuniary | ||
| loss; | ||
| (4) a state jail felony if the amount of pecuniary loss | ||
| is: | ||
| (A) $2,500 or more but less than $30,000; | ||
| (B) less than $2,500, if the property damaged or | ||
| destroyed is a habitation and if the damage or destruction is caused | ||
| by a firearm or explosive weapon; | ||
| (C) less than $2,500, if the property was a fence | ||
| used for the production or containment of: | ||
| (i) cattle, bison, horses, sheep, swine, | ||
| goats, exotic livestock, or exotic poultry; or | ||
| (ii) game animals as that term is defined by | ||
| Section 63.001, Parks and Wildlife Code; | ||
| (D) less than $30,000 and the actor: | ||
| (i) causes wholly or partly impairment or | ||
| interruption of property used for flood control purposes or a dam or | ||
| of public communications, public transportation, public gas | ||
| supply, or other public service; or | ||
| (ii) causes to be diverted wholly, partly, | ||
| or in any manner, including installation or removal of any device | ||
| for any such purpose, any public communications or public gas | ||
| supply; or | ||
| (E) less than $30,000, if the property is a motor | ||
| vehicle that is damaged, destroyed, or tampered with during the | ||
| removal or attempted removal of a catalytic converter from the | ||
| motor vehicle; | ||
| (5) a felony of the third degree if: | ||
| (A) the amount of the pecuniary loss is $30,000 | ||
| or more but less than $150,000; | ||
| (B) the actor, by discharging a firearm or other | ||
| weapon or by any other means, causes the death of one or more head of | ||
| cattle or bison or one or more horses; | ||
| (C) the actor causes wholly or partly impairment | ||
| or interruption of access to an automated teller machine, | ||
| regardless of the amount of the pecuniary loss; or | ||
| (D) the amount of pecuniary loss is less than | ||
| $150,000 and the actor: | ||
| (i) causes wholly or partly impairment or | ||
| interruption of property used for public power supply; or | ||
| (ii) causes to be diverted wholly, partly, | ||
| or in any manner, including installation or removal of any device | ||
| for any such purpose, any public power supply; | ||
| (6) a felony of the second degree if the amount of | ||
| pecuniary loss is $150,000 or more but less than $300,000; or | ||
| (7) a felony of the first degree if the amount of | ||
| pecuniary loss is $300,000 or more. | ||
| (l) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor | ||
| if: | ||
| (1) the real property or tangible personal property is | ||
| owned by the state and functions as a barrier or part of a barrier to | ||
| prevent travel across the international border of this state; | ||
| (2) the property is tampered with to a degree that the | ||
| actor is able to cause in whole or in part impairment or | ||
| interruption of the functioning of the barrier, regardless of the | ||
| amount of pecuniary loss; and | ||
| (3) the amount of any pecuniary loss to the property is | ||
| not more than $2,500. | ||
| SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies 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 immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the | ||
| legislative session. | ||
