By: Moody (Senate Sponsor - Carona) H.B. No. 1606
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 2013;
May 7, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
Justice; May 17, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0;
May 17, 2013, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1606 By: Huffman
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of the offenses of harassment and
stalking.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 42.07(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to harass,
annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass another, the person
[he]:
(1) initiates communication [by telephone, in
writing, or by electronic communication] and in the course of the
communication makes a comment, request, suggestion, or proposal
that is obscene;
(2) threatens, [by telephone, in writing, or by
electronic communication,] in a manner reasonably likely to alarm
the person receiving the threat, to inflict bodily injury on the
person or to commit a felony against the person, a member of the
person's [his] family or household, or the person's [his] property;
(3) conveys, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm
the person receiving the report, a false report, which is known by
the conveyor to be false, that another person has suffered death or
serious bodily injury;
(4) causes the telephone of another to ring repeatedly
or makes repeated telephone communications anonymously or in a
manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment,
embarrass, or offend another;
(5) makes a telephone call and intentionally fails to
hang up or disengage the connection;
(6) knowingly permits a telephone under the person's
control to be used by another to commit an offense under this
section; or
(7) sends repeated electronic communications in a
manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment,
embarrass, or offend another.
SECTION 2. Sections 42.072(a) and (d), Penal Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person, on more than
one occasion and pursuant to the same scheme or course of conduct
that is directed specifically at another person, knowingly engages
in conduct that:
(1) constitutes an offense under Section 42.07, or
that the actor knows or reasonably should know [believes] the other
person will regard as threatening:
(A) bodily injury or death for the other person;
(B) bodily injury or death for a member of the
other person's family or household or for an individual with whom
the other person has a dating relationship; or
(C) that an offense will be committed against the
other person's property;
(2) causes the other person, a member of the other
person's family or household, or an individual with whom the other
person has a dating relationship to be placed in fear of bodily
injury or death or in fear that an offense will be committed against
the other person's property, or to feel harassed, annoyed, alarmed,
abused, tormented, embarrassed, or offended; and
(3) would cause a reasonable person to [fear]:
(A) fear bodily injury or death for himself or
herself;
(B) fear bodily injury or death for a member of
the person's family or household or for an individual with whom the
person has a dating relationship; [or]
(C) fear that an offense will be committed
against the person's property; or
(D) feel harassed, annoyed, alarmed, abused,
tormented, embarrassed, or offended.
(d) In this section:
(1) "Dating [, "dating] relationship," "family,"
"household," and "member of a household" have the meanings assigned
by Chapter 71, Family Code.
(2) "Property" includes a pet, companion animal, or
assistance animal, as defined by Section 121.002, Human Resources
Code.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
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