H.B. No. 2248


   AN ACT


  relating to certain fraudulent criminal conduct affecting
a financial institution.


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


	SECTION 1.  Section 32.21(d), Penal Code, is amended
to read as follows:


	(d)  An offense under this section is a state jail felony
if the writing is or purports to be a will, codicil,
deed, deed of trust, mortgage, security instrument,
security agreement, credit card, check, authorization
to debit an account at a financial institution,
or similar sight order for payment of money, contract,
release, or other commercial instrument.


	SECTION 2.  Section 32.31(a)(4), Penal Code, is amended
to read as follows:


		(4)  "Debit card" means an identification card, plate,
coupon, book, number, or any other device authorizing
a designated person or bearer to communicate a request
to an unmanned teller machine or a customer convenience
terminal or obtain property or services by debit
to an account at a financial institution.  The
term includes the number or description of the device
if the device itself is not produced at the time of
ordering or obtaining the benefit.


	SECTION 3.  Section 32.31(b), Penal Code, is amended
to read as follows:


	(b) A person commits an offense if:


		(1)  with intent to obtain a benefit fraudulently, he
presents or uses a credit card or debit card with knowledge
that:


			(A)  the card, whether or not expired, has not been
issued to him and is not used with the effective consent
of the cardholder; or


			(B)  the card has expired or has been revoked or cancelled;


		(2)  with intent to obtain a benefit, he uses a fictitious
credit card or debit card or the pretended number or
description of a fictitious card;


		(3)  he receives a benefit that he knows has been obtained
in violation of this section;


		(4)  he steals a credit card or debit card or, with
knowledge that it has been stolen, receives a credit
card or debit card with intent to use it, to sell it,
or to transfer it to a person other than the issuer
or the cardholder;


		(5)  he buys a credit card or debit card from a person
who he knows is not the issuer;


		(6)  not being the issuer, he sells a credit card or
debit card;


		(7)  he uses or induces the cardholder to use the cardholder's
credit card or debit card to obtain property
or service for the actor's benefit for which the cardholder
is financially unable to pay;


		(8)  not being the cardholder, and without the effective
consent of the cardholder, he signs or writes his name
or the name of another on a credit card or debit card
with intent to use it;


		(9)  he possesses two or more incomplete credit cards
or debit cards that have not been issued to him with
intent to complete them without the effective consent
of the issuer.  For purposes of this subdivision, a
card is incomplete if part of the matter that an issuer
requires to appear on the card before it can be used,
other than the signature of the cardholder, has not
yet been stamped, embossed, imprinted, or written on
it;


		(10)  being authorized by an issuer to furnish goods
or services on presentation of a credit card or
debit card, he, with intent to defraud the issuer
or the cardholder, furnishes goods or services on presentation
of a credit card or debit card obtained or retained
in violation of this section or a credit card or
debit card that is forged, expired, or revoked;
or


		(11)  being authorized by an issuer to furnish goods
or services on presentation of a credit card or
debit card, he, with intent to defraud the issuer
or a cardholder, fails to furnish goods or services
that he represents in writing to the issuer that he
has furnished.


	SECTION 4.  Section 32.51(a)(1), Penal Code, is amended
to read as follows:


		(1)  "Identifying information" means information that
alone or in conjunction with other information identifies
an individual, including an individual's:


			(A)  name, social security number, date of birth, and
government-issued identification number; 


			(B)  unique biometric data, including the individual's
fingerprint, voice print, and retina or iris image;



			(C)  unique electronic identification number, address,
and routing code, financial institution account
number; and


			(D)  telecommunication identifying information or access
device.


	SECTION 5.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1,
2003.


	(b)  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 subsection,
an offense was committed before the effective date
of this Act if any element of the offense was committed
before that date.
______________________________ ______________________________ 

   President of the Senate		Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 2248 was passed by the House on April 25, 2003, by a non-record vote.

______________________________

Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 2248 was passed by the Senate on May 28, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________

Secretary of the Senate

APPROVED: _____________________

Date

_____________________

Governor