Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB1937 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Simpson, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Patrick) H.B. No. 1937
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 16, 2011;
3	3	May 17, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on
4	4	Transportation and Homeland Security; May 21, 2011, reported
5	5	favorably by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 21, 2011,
6	6	sent to printer.)
7	7
8	8
9	9	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	10	AN ACT
11	11	relating to prosecution and punishment for the offense of official
12	12	oppression by the intrusive touching of persons seeking access to
13	13	public buildings and transportation; providing penalties.
14	14	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	15	SECTION 1. Section 39.03, Penal Code, is amended by
16	16	amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (c-1) and
17	17	(c-2) to read as follows:
18	18	(a) A person who is a public servant [acting under color of
19	19	his office or employment] commits an offense if the person:
20	20	(1) while acting under color of the person's office or
21	21	employment [he]:
22	22	(A) [(1)] intentionally subjects another person
23	23	to mistreatment or to arrest, detention, search, seizure,
24	24	dispossession, assessment, or lien that the actor [he] knows is
25	25	unlawful;
26	26	(B) [(2)] intentionally denies or impedes
27	27	another person in the exercise or enjoyment of any right,
28	28	privilege, power, or immunity, knowing the actor's [his] conduct is
29	29	unlawful; or
30	30	(C) [(3)] intentionally subjects another person
31	31	to sexual harassment; or
32	32	(2) while acting under color of the person's office or
33	33	employment without probable cause to believe the other person
34	34	committed an offense:
35	35	(A) performs a search for the purpose of granting
36	36	access to a publicly accessible building or form of transportation;
37	37	and
38	38	(B) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly:
39	39	(i) touches the anus, sexual organ,
40	40	buttocks, or breast of the other person, including touching through
41	41	clothing; or
42	42	(ii) touches the other person in a manner
43	43	that would be offensive to a reasonable person.
44	44	(b) For purposes of this section, a person who is a public
45	45	servant acts under color of the person's [his] office or employment
46	46	if the person [he] acts or purports to act in an official capacity
47	47	or takes advantage of such actual or purported capacity.
48	48	(c-1) For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), "public servant"
49	49	includes:
50	50	(1) an officer, employee, or agent of:
51	51	(A) the United States;
52	52	(B) a branch, department, or agency of the United
53	53	States; or
54	54	(C) another person acting under contract with a
55	55	branch, department, or agency of the United States for the purpose
56	56	of providing a security or law enforcement service; and
57	57	(2) any other person acting under color of federal
58	58	law.
59	59	(c-2) For a person described by Subsection (c-1)(1) or (2),
60	60	it is a defense to prosecution for an offense under Subsection
61	61	(a)(2) that the actor performed the search pursuant to and
62	62	consistent with an explicit and applicable grant of federal
63	63	statutory authority that is consistent with the United States
64	64	Constitution.
65	65	SECTION 2. (a) This section applies only to a prosecution of
66	66	an offense under Section 39.03(a)(2), Penal Code, as added by this
67	67	Act, in which the defendant was, at the time of the alleged offense,
68	68	acting under the color of federal law.
69	69	(b) In a prosecution described by Subsection (a) of this
70	70	section, if the government of the United States, the defendant, or
71	71	the defendant's employer challenges the validity of Section
72	72	39.03(a)(2), Penal Code, as added by this Act, on grounds of
73	73	unconstitutionality, preemption, or sovereign immunity, the
74	74	attorney general of this state, with the consent of the appropriate
75	75	local county or district attorney, shall take any actions necessary
76	76	on behalf of the state to defend the validity of the statute. The
77	77	attorney general may make any legal arguments the attorney general
78	78	considers appropriate, including that this Act constitutes a valid
79	79	exercise of:
80	80	(1) the state's police powers;
81	81	(2) the liberty interests of the people secured by the
82	82	Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution;
83	83	(3) the powers reserved to the states by the Tenth
84	84	Amendment to the United States Constitution; or
85	85	(4) the rights and protections secured by the Texas
86	86	Constitution.
87	87	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
88	88	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
89	89	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
90	90	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
91	91	Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
92	92	* * * * *