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I hope that everyone has had a wonderful holiday season and will have a safe and happy new year. As I have mentioned in the past few weeks' columns, the new year means a new legislative session is soon to begin. January 11 marks the first day of the 79th Legislative Session for the Texas Legislature. As always, I encourage you to contact my office with thoughts you have on any particular piece or pieces of legislation. Once the legislative session is over and bills are signed by the governor, there is little that can be done to change a law until the next session convenes in two years. In the past several columns, I have outlined various bills that have been pre-filed for consideration during the upcoming legislative session. I will continue in this week's column as well. At least four bills have been filed so far that increase the penalty for burglary of a vehicle. Under the Texas Penal Code, a person commits an offense if, without the effective consent of the owner, the person breaks into or enters a vehicle or any part of a vehicle with intent to commit any felony or theft. The current punishment for this offense is a Class A misdemeanor, which entails a fine of up to $4,000, incarceration for up to a year, or both with the possibility for probation. House Bills 35, 53 and 151 increase the penalty to a state jail felony. A state jail sentence involves a mandatory term of probation, in some cases preceded by 60 to 365 days of "up-front" confinement in a state jail facility. Confinement for the full term of a sentence may be ordered if the conditions of probation are violated. HB 53 also includes penalty increases for the theft of a motor vehicle and for tampering with a vehicle identification number. House Bill 144 also increase the penalty for burglarizing a vehicle to a state jail felony, but only if the defendant has previously been convicted of the offense. Proponents of increasing the penalty say that burglaries of vehicles are becoming more prevalent and that the punishment is not severe enough to deter a person from committing the crime. Opponents feel that making this offense a state jail felony will contribute further to state facility overcrowding. House Bill 190 would make it a Class B misdemeanor for individuals, other than emergency response personnel, to possess mobile infrared transmitters. These devices are used by emergency response personnel and emit an infrared beam which is capable of changing a traffic signal from red to green prior to the emergency response vehicle reaching the intersection. The devices are intended only for official use but are likely attractive to individuals because of their small size, affordable price and availability through the internet. Conviction of a Class B misdemeanor calls for a fine of up to $2,000, up to 180 days in jail or both. I am interested in your comments on legislation that will be debated in the Texas House of Representatives. You can contact me by writing to P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768-2910.