S.B. No. 529

	AN ACT
	relating to the creation of the offense of installation, transfer,
	use, or possession of an automated sales suppression device or
	phantom-ware.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subtitle B, Title 10, Business & Commerce Code,
	is amended by adding Chapter 326 to read as follows:
	CHAPTER 326.  AUTOMATED SALES SUPPRESSION DEVICES; PHANTOM-WARE
	Sec. 326.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:
	(1)  "Automated sales suppression device" means a
	device or software program that falsifies an electronic record,
	including transaction data or a transaction report, of an
	electronic cash register or other point-of-sale system. The term
	includes a device that carries the software program or an Internet
	link to the software program.
	(2)  "Electronic cash register" means a device or
	point-of-sale system that maintains a register or documentation
	through an electronic device or computer system that is designed to
	record transaction data for the purpose of computing, compiling, or
	processing retail sales transaction data.
	(3)  "Phantom-ware" means a hidden programming option
	that is embedded in the operating system of an electronic cash
	register or hardwired into an electronic cash register and that may
	be used to create a second set of transaction reports or to
	eliminate or manipulate an original transaction report, which may
	or may not be preserved in a digital format, to represent the
	original or manipulated report of a transaction in the electronic
	cash register.
	(4)  "Transaction data" includes data identifying an
	item purchased by a customer, a price for an item, a taxability
	determination for an item, a segregated tax amount for an item, an
	amount of cash or credit tendered for an item, a net amount of cash
	returned to a customer who purchased an item, a date or time of a
	purchase, a receipt or invoice number for a transaction, and a
	vendor's name, address, or identification number.
	(5)  "Transaction report" means a report that:
	(A)  contains documentation of each sale, amount
	of tax or fee collected, media total, or discount void at an
	electronic cash register and that is printed on a cash register tape
	at the end of a day or a shift; or
	(B)  documents every action at an electronic cash
	register and is stored electronically.
	Sec. 326.002.  AUTOMATED SALES SUPPRESSION DEVICES AND
	PHANTOM-WARE PROHIBITED; CRIMINAL OFFENSE.  (a)  A person commits
	an offense if the person knowingly sells, purchases, installs,
	transfers, uses, or possesses an automated sales suppression device
	or phantom-ware.
	(b)  An offense under this section is a state jail felony.
	SECTION 2.  Subdivision (2), Article 59.01, Code of Criminal
	Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
	(2)  "Contraband" means property of any nature,
	including real, personal, tangible, or intangible, that is:
	(A)  used in the commission of:
	(i)  any first or second degree felony under
	the Penal Code;
	(ii)  any felony under Section 15.031(b),
	20.05, 21.11, 38.04, or Chapter 43, 20A, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 33A, or
	35, Penal Code;
	(iii)  any felony under The Securities Act
	(Article 581-1 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes); or
	(iv)  any offense under Chapter 49, Penal
	Code, that is punishable as a felony of the third degree or state
	jail felony, if the defendant has been previously convicted three
	times of an offense under that chapter;
	(B)  used or intended to be used in the commission
	of:
	(i)  any felony under Chapter 481, Health
	and Safety Code (Texas Controlled Substances Act);
	(ii)  any felony under Chapter 483, Health
	and Safety Code;
	(iii)  a felony under Chapter 153, Finance
	Code;
	(iv)  any felony under Chapter 34, Penal
	Code;
	(v)  a Class A misdemeanor under Subchapter
	B, Chapter 365, Health and Safety Code, if the defendant has been
	previously convicted twice of an offense under that subchapter;
	(vi)  any felony under Chapter 152, Finance
	Code;
	(vii)  any felony under Chapter 32, Human
	Resources Code, or Chapter 31, 32, 35A, or 37, Penal Code, that
	involves the state Medicaid program;
	(viii)  a Class B misdemeanor under Chapter
	522, Business & Commerce Code;
	(ix)  a Class A misdemeanor under Section
	306.051, Business & Commerce Code;
	(x)  any offense under Section 42.10, Penal
	Code;
	(xi)  any offense under Section 46.06(a)(1)
	or 46.14, Penal Code;
	(xii)  any offense under Chapter 71, Penal
	Code; [or]
	(xiii)  any offense under Section 20.05,
	Penal Code; or
	(xiv)  an offense under Section 326.002,
	Business & Commerce Code;
	(C)  the proceeds gained from the commission of a
	felony listed in Paragraph (A) or (B) of this subdivision, a
	misdemeanor listed in Paragraph (B)(viii), (x), (xi), or (xii) of
	this subdivision, or a crime of violence;
	(D)  acquired with proceeds gained from the
	commission of a felony listed in Paragraph (A) or (B) of this
	subdivision, a misdemeanor listed in Paragraph (B)(viii), (x),
	(xi), or (xii) of this subdivision, or a crime of violence;
	(E)  used to facilitate or intended to be used to
	facilitate the commission of a felony under Section 15.031 or
	43.25, Penal Code; or
	(F)  used to facilitate or intended to be used to
	facilitate the commission of a felony under Section 20A.02 or
	Chapter 43, Penal Code.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 529 passed the Senate on
	March 13, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 529 passed the House on
	May 14, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 143, Nays 0, two
	present not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	Approved:
	______________________________
	Date
	______________________________
	Governor