Texas Penal Code - Section 37.10. Tampering With Governmental Record
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Texas Laws > Penal Code > Texas Penal Code - Section 37.10. Tampering With Governmental Record
§ 37.10. TAMPERING WITH GOVERNMENTAL RECORD. (a) A
person commits an offense if he:
(1) knowingly makes a false entry in, or false
alteration of, a governmental record;
(2) makes, presents, or uses any record, document, or
thing with knowledge of its falsity and with intent that it be taken
as a genuine governmental record;
(3) intentionally destroys, conceals, removes, or
otherwise impairs the verity, legibility, or availability of a
governmental record;
(4) possesses, sells, or offers to sell a governmental
record or a blank governmental record form with intent that it be
used unlawfully;
(5) makes, presents, or uses a governmental record
with knowledge of its falsity; or
(6) possesses, sells, or offers to sell a governmental
record or a blank governmental record form with knowledge that it
was obtained unlawfully.
(b) It is an exception to the application of Subsection
(a)(3) that the governmental record is destroyed pursuant to legal
authorization or transferred under Section 441.204, Government
Code. With regard to the destruction of a local government record,
legal authorization includes compliance with the provisions of
Subtitle C, Title 6, Local Government Code.
(c)(1) Except as provided by Subdivisions (2) and (3) and by
Subsection (d), an offense under this section is a Class A
misdemeanor unless the actor's intent is to defraud or harm
another, in which event the offense is a state jail felony.
(2) An offense under this section is a felony of the
third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
governmental record was a public school record, report, or
assessment instrument required under Chapter 39, Education Code, or
was a license, certificate, permit, seal, title, letter of patent,
or similar document issued by government, by another state, or by
the United States, unless the actor's intent is to defraud or harm
another, in which event the offense is a felony of the second
degree.
(3) An offense under this section is a Class C
misdemeanor if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
governmental record is a governmental record that is required for
enrollment of a student in a school district and was used by the
actor to establish the residency of the student.
(d) An offense under this section, if it is shown on the
trial of the offense that the governmental record is described by
Section 37.01(2)(D), is:
(1) a Class B misdemeanor if the offense is committed
under Subsection (a)(2) or Subsection (a)(5) and the defendant is
convicted of presenting or using the record;
(2) a felony of the third degree if the offense is
committed under:
(A) Subsection (a)(1), (3), (4), or (6); or
(B) Subsection (a)(2) or (5) and the defendant is
convicted of making the record; and
(3) a felony of the second degree, notwithstanding
Subdivisions (1) and (2), if the actor's intent in committing the
offense was to defraud or harm another.
(e) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution for
possession under Subsection (a)(6) that the possession occurred in
the actual discharge of official duties as a public servant.
(f) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(1),
(a)(2), or (a)(5) that the false entry or false information could
have no effect on the government's purpose for requiring the
governmental record.
(g) A person is presumed to intend to defraud or harm
another if the person acts with respect to two or more of the same
type of governmental records or blank governmental record forms and
if each governmental record or blank governmental record form is a
license, certificate, permit, seal, title, or similar document
issued by government.
(h) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this
section also constitutes an offense under Section 32.48 or 37.13,
the actor may be prosecuted under any of those sections.
(i) With the consent of the appropriate local county or
district attorney, the attorney general has concurrent
jurisdiction with that consenting local prosecutor to prosecute an
offense under this section that involves the state Medicaid
program.
Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974.
Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1248, § 66, eff. Sept. 1,
1989; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 113, § 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1991;
Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 565, § 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts
1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Acts 1997,
75th Leg., ch. 189, § 6, eff. May 21, 1997; Acts 1997, 75th Leg.,
ch. 823, § 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 659,
§ 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 718, § 1,
eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 771, § 3, eff. June
13, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 198, § 2.139, eff. Sept. 1,
2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 257, § 16, eff. Sept. 1, 2003;
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 1364, § 1, eff. June 18, 2005.
Section: 37.04 37.05 37.06 37.07 37.08 37.081 37.09 37.10 37.101 37.11 37.12 37.13 38.01 38.02 38.03
Last modified: August 11, 2007
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