Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1798 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Watson S.B. No. 1798
2	2	(Herrero)
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the prosecution of the offense of obstruction or
8	8	retaliation; providing penalties.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 36.06, Penal Code, is amended to read as
11	11	follows:
12	12	Sec. 36.06. OBSTRUCTION OR RETALIATION. (a) A person
13	13	commits an offense if the person [he] intentionally or knowingly
14	14	harms or threatens to harm another by an unlawful act:
15	15	(1) in retaliation for or on account of the service or
16	16	status of another as a:
17	17	(A) public servant, witness, prospective
18	18	witness, or informant; or
19	19	(B) person who has reported or who the actor
20	20	knows intends to report the occurrence of a crime; or
21	21	(2) to prevent or delay the service of another as a:
22	22	(A) public servant, witness, prospective
23	23	witness, or informant; or
24	24	(B) person who has reported or who the actor
25	25	knows intends to report the occurrence of a crime.
26	26	(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person posts the
27	27	residence address or telephone number of an individual the actor
28	28	knows is a public servant or a member of a public servant's family
29	29	or household on a publicly accessible website with the intent to
30	30	cause harm or a threat of harm to the individual or a member of the
31	31	individual's family or household in retaliation for or on account
32	32	of the service or status of the individual as a public servant.
33	33	(b) In this section:
34	34	(1) "Honorably retired peace officer" means a peace
35	35	officer who:
36	36	(A) did not retire in lieu of any disciplinary
37	37	action;
38	38	(B) was eligible to retire from a law enforcement
39	39	agency or was ineligible to retire only as a result of an injury
40	40	received in the course of the officer's employment with the agency;
41	41	and
42	42	(C) is entitled to receive a pension or annuity
43	43	for service as a law enforcement officer or is not entitled to
44	44	receive a pension or annuity only because the law enforcement
45	45	agency that employed the officer does not offer a pension or annuity
46	46	to its employees.
47	47	(2) "Informant" means a person who has communicated
48	48	information to the government in connection with any governmental
49	49	function.
50	50	(3) "Public servant" has the meaning assigned by
51	51	Section 1.07, except that the term also includes an honorably
52	52	retired peace officer.
53	53	(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
54	54	degree, except that the offense is a felony of the second degree if:
55	55	(1) [unless] the victim of the offense was harmed or
56	56	threatened because of the victim's service or status as a juror; or
57	57	(2) the actor's conduct is described by Subsection
58	58	(a-1) and results in the bodily injury of a public servant or a
59	59	member of a public servant's family or household[, in which event
60	60	the offense is a felony of the second degree].
61	61	(d) For purposes of Subsection (a-1), it is prima facie
62	62	evidence of the intent to cause harm or a threat of harm to an
63	63	individual the person knows is a public servant or a member of a
64	64	public servant's family or household if the actor:
65	65	(1) receives a written demand from the individual to
66	66	not disclose the address or telephone number for reasons of safety;
67	67	and
68	68	(2) either:
69	69	(A) fails to remove the address or telephone
70	70	number from the publicly accessible website within a period of 48
71	71	hours after receiving the demand; or
72	72	(B) reposts the address or telephone number on
73	73	the same or a different publicly accessible website, or makes the
74	74	information publicly available through another medium, within a
75	75	period of four years after receiving the demand, regardless of
76	76	whether the individual is no longer a public servant.
77	77	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
78	78	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
79	79	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
80	80	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
81	81	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
82	82	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
83	83	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
84	84	before that date.
85	85	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.