Plain English summary not yet available
The full original text is available below. Check back soon as we process this bill.
      H.B. No. 4996         AN ACT   relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of   refusal to execute the release of a fraudulent lien or claim.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 32.49(c), Penal Code, is amended to read   as follows:          (c)  An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor ,   except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the owner   of the real or personal property subject to the fraudulent lien or   claim is a person the actor knows is a public servant .          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.       ______________________________ ______________________________      President of the Senate Speaker of the House                   I certify that H.B. No. 4996 was passed by the House on May 7,   2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 144, Nays 4, 2 present, not   voting.     ______________________________   Chief Clerk of the House                 I certify that H.B. No. 4996 was passed by the Senate on May   23, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 30, Nays 1.     ______________________________   Secretary of the Senate       APPROVED:  _____________________                      Date                           _____________________                    Governor