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Texas Statutes (Last Updated: January 4, 2014) |
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OCCUPATIONS CODE |
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Title 12. PRACTICES AND TRADES RELATED TO WATER, HEALTH, AND SAFETY |
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Subtitle B. PRACTICES RELATED TO HEALTH AND SAFETY |
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Chapter 1956. METAL RECYCLING ENTITIES |
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Subchapter A-3. PRACTICE BY CERTIFICATE HOLDERS |
Sec. 1956.040. CRIMINAL PENALTY
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(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly violates Section 1956.038.
An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor unless it is shown on trial of the offense that the person has previously been convicted of a violation of this subchapter, in which event the offense is a state jail felony.
(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly violates Section 1956.021, 1956.023(d), 1956.036(a), or 1956.039.
(a-2) An offense under Subsection (a-1) is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $10,000, unless it is shown on trial of the offense that the person has previously been convicted of a violation of Subsection (a-1), in which event the offense is a state jail felony.
(a-3) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution of a violation of Section 1956.021 or 1956.023(d) that the person made a diligent effort to obtain or renew a certificate of registration at the time of the violation.
(a-4) A municipality or county may retain 10 percent of the money collected from a fine for a conviction of an offense under Subsection (a-1) as a service fee for that collection and the clerk of the court shall remit the remainder of the fine collected for conviction of an offense under Subsection (a-1) to the comptroller in the manner provided for the remission of fees to the comptroller under Subchapter B, Chapter 133, Local Government Code. The comptroller shall deposit proceeds received under this subsection to the credit of an account in the general revenue fund, and those proceeds may be appropriated only to the department and used to:
(1) finance the department's administration of Subchapters A, A-1, A-2, and A-3; and
(2) fund grants distributed under the prevention of scrap metal theft grant program established under Subchapter N, Chapter 411, Government Code.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly buys:
(1) stolen regulated material; or
(2) insulated communications wire that has been burned wholly or partly to remove the insulation, unless the wire is accompanied by documentation acceptable under the rules adopted under Section 1956.032(h) that states that the material was salvaged from a fire.
(b-1) An offense under Subsection (b) is a Class A misdemeanor unless it is shown on trial of the offense that the person has previously been convicted under Subsection (b), in which event the offense is a state jail felony.
(c) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly sells stolen regulated material. An offense under this subsection is a state jail felony unless it is shown on trial of the offense that the person has previously been convicted under this subsection, in which event the offense is a third degree felony.
(d) On the conviction of a metal recycling entity for an offense punishable under Subsection (b), a court, in addition to imposing any other applicable penalty, may order that the entity cease doing business as a metal recycling entity for a period not to exceed:
(1) 30 days from the date of the order for each violation that forms the basis of the conviction for a first offense; and
(2) 180 days from the date of the order for each violation that forms the basis of the conviction if it is shown on trial of the offense that the person has previously been convicted under this section.
(e) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor may be prosecuted under this section or the other law.