HB727 - Relating to the punishment for the offense of burglary of a vehicle.

  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.