By: Murphy H.B. No. 4054
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
 
  relating to the application of sales and use taxes to certain food
  items.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 151.314, Tax Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (b), (c-2), and (c-3) and adding Subsection
  (b-2) to read as follows:
         (b)  "Food products" shall include, except as otherwise
  provided herein, but shall not be limited to cereals and cereal
  products; milk and milk products, including ice cream;
  oleomargarine; meat and meat products; poultry and poultry
  products; fish and fish products; eggs and egg products; vegetables
  and vegetable products; fruit and fruit products; spices,
  condiments, and salt; sugar and sugar products; coffee and coffee
  substitutes; tea; cocoa products; snack items; bakery items; or any
  combination of the above.
         (b-2)  For purposes of this section:
               (1)  "Bakery" means a retail location that primarily
  sells bakery items from a display case or counter, predominantly
  for consumption off the premises.
               (2)  "Bakery items" means bread, rolls, buns, biscuits,
  bagels, croissants, pastries, doughnuts, Danish, cakes, tortes,
  pies, tarts, muffins, bars, cookies, tortillas, and similar items.
         (c-2)  The exemption provided by Subsection (a) does not
  include the following prepared food:
               (1)  except as provided by Subsection (c-3)(1), food,
  food products, and drinks, including meals, milk and milk products,
  fruit and fruit products, sandwiches, salads, processed meats and
  seafoods, vegetable juice, and ice cream in cones or small cups,
  served, prepared, or sold ready for immediate consumption by
  restaurants, lunch counters, cafeterias, delis, vending machines,
  hotels, or like places of business or sold ready for immediate
  consumption from pushcarts, motor vehicles, or any other form of
  vehicle;
               (2)  except as provided by Subsection (c-3), food sold
  in a heated state or heated by the seller; or
               (3)  two or more food ingredients mixed or combined by
  the seller for sale as a single item, including items that are sold
  in an unheated state by weight or volume as a single item, but not
  including food that is only cut, repackaged, or pasteurized by the
  seller.
         (c-3)  The exemption provided by Subsection (a) includes:
               (1)  bakery items sold by a bakery, regardless of
  whether heated by the consumer or seller [without plates or other
  eating utensils, including bread, rolls, buns, biscuits, bagels,
  croissants, pastries, doughnuts, Danish, cakes, tortes, pies,
  tarts, muffins, bars, cookies, and tortillas]; and
               (2)  eggs, fish, meat, and poultry, and foods
  containing these raw animal foods, that require cooking by the
  consumer as recommended by the Food and Drug Administration in
  Chapter 3, Section 401.11 of its Food Code to prevent food-borne
  illness and any other food that requires cooking by the consumer
  before the food is edible.
         SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act does not
  affect tax liability accruing before the effective date of this
  Act. That liability continues in effect as if this Act had not been
  enacted, and the former law is continued in effect for the
  collection of taxes due and for civil and criminal enforcement of
  the liability for those taxes.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.