bill raising the penalty for vehicle burglary

The text as introduced · 430 words

89R3850 JDK-D

By: Cortez
H.B. No. 727

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the punishment for the offense of burglary of a vehicle.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 30.04, Penal Code, is amended by

amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (f) to read as

follows:

(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,

except that:

(1) the offense is a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum

term of confinement of six months if it is shown on the trial of the

offense that the defendant has been previously convicted of an

offense under this section;

(2) the offense is a state jail felony if:

(A) it is shown on the trial of the offense that

the defendant has been previously convicted two or more times of an

offense under this section; or

(B) the actor:

(i) broke into or entered a [ the ] vehicle ,

or part of a [ the ] vehicle , that [ broken into or entered ] is a rail

car;

(ii) possessed a firearm during the

commission of the offense;

(iii) committed theft of a firearm during

the commission of the offense;

(iv) used a stolen vehicle to facilitate

the commission of the offense; or

(v) committed the offense with respect to

two or more vehicles during the same criminal transaction or during

different criminal transactions but pursuant to the same scheme or

course of conduct; and

(3) the offense is a felony of the third degree if:

(A) the vehicle broken into or entered is owned

or operated by a wholesale distributor of prescription drugs and

the actor breaks into or enters that vehicle with the intent to

commit theft of a controlled substance; or

(B) it is shown on the trial of the offense that

the actor committed the offense in the course of committing an

offense under Section 20.05(a)(2).

(f) In this section, "firearm" has the meaning assigned by

Section 46.01.

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 September 1, 2025.