83R5227 ATP-D
	By: Miller of Fort Bend	H.B. No. 1564

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the penalty for theft of an official ballot or official
	carrier envelope for an election.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 31.03(e), Penal Code, is amended to read
	as follows:
	(e)  Except as provided by Subsection (f), an offense under
	this section is:
	(1)  a Class C misdemeanor if the value of the property
	stolen is less than:
	(A)  $50; or
	(B)  $20 and the defendant obtained the property
	by issuing or passing a check or similar sight order in a manner
	described by Section 31.06;
	(2)  a Class B misdemeanor if:
	(A)  the value of the property stolen is:
	(i)  $50 or more but less than $500; or
	(ii)  $20 or more but less than $500 and the
	defendant obtained the property by issuing or passing a check or
	similar sight order in a manner described by Section 31.06;
	(B)  the value of the property stolen is less
	than:
	(i)  $50 and the defendant has previously
	been convicted of any grade of theft; or
	(ii)  $20, the defendant has previously been
	convicted of any grade of theft, and the defendant obtained the
	property by issuing or passing a check or similar sight order in a
	manner described by Section 31.06; or
	(C)  the property stolen is a driver's license,
	commercial driver's license, or personal identification
	certificate issued by this state or another state;
	(3)  a Class A misdemeanor if the value of the property
	stolen is $500 or more but less than $1,500;
	(4)  a state jail felony if:
	(A)  the value of the property stolen is $1,500 or
	more but less than $20,000, or the property is less than 10 head of
	sheep, swine, or goats or any part thereof under the value of
	$20,000;
	(B)  regardless of value, the property is stolen
	from the person of another or from a human corpse or grave,
	including property that is a military grave marker;
	(C)  the property stolen is a firearm, as defined
	by Section 46.01;
	(D)  the value of the property stolen is less than
	$1,500 and the defendant has been previously convicted two or more
	times of any grade of theft; or
	(E)  [the property stolen is an official ballot or
	official carrier envelope for an election; or
	[(F)]  the value of the property stolen is less
	than $20,000 and the property stolen is:
	(i)  aluminum;
	(ii)  bronze;
	(iii)  copper; or
	(iv)  brass;
	(5)  a felony of the third degree if the value of the
	property stolen is $20,000 or more but less than $100,000, or the
	property is:
	(A)  cattle, horses, or exotic livestock or exotic
	fowl as defined by Section 142.001, Agriculture Code, stolen during
	a single transaction and having an aggregate value of less than
	$100,000; [or]
	(B)  10 or more head of sheep, swine, or goats
	stolen during a single transaction and having an aggregate value of
	less than $100,000; or
	(C)  an official ballot or official carrier
	envelope for an election;
	(6)  a felony of the second degree if:
	(A)  the value of the property stolen is $100,000
	or more but less than $200,000; or
	(B)  the value of the property stolen is less than
	$200,000 and the property stolen is an automated teller machine or
	the contents or components of an automated teller machine; or
	(7)  a felony of the first degree if the value of the
	property stolen is $200,000 or more.
	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
	covered 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 is committed before the effective date of
	this Act if any element of the offense occurs before that date.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.