By: Turner of Tarrant, et al. H.B. No. 1061
(Senate Sponsor - Whitmire)
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2015;
May 4, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
Justice; May 21, 2015, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 21, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of the offense of interference with
public duties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 38.15, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (d-1) and (d-2) to read as follows:
(d-1) Except as provided by Subsection (d-2), in a
prosecution for an offense under Subsection (a)(1), there is a
rebuttable presumption that the actor interferes with a peace
officer if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the actor
intentionally disseminated the home address, home telephone
number, emergency contact information, or social security number of
the officer or a family member of the officer or any other
information that is specifically described by Section 552.117(a),
Government Code.
(d-2) The presumption in Subsection (d-1) does not apply to
information disseminated by:
(1) a radio or television station that holds a license
issued by the Federal Communications Commission; or
(2) a newspaper that is:
(A) a free newspaper of general circulation or
qualified to publish legal notices;
(B) published at least once a week; and
(C) available and of interest to the general
public.
SECTION 2. 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
* * * * *