84R5846 LED-D
By: Riddle H.B. No. 1747
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of entry of a person into a public
restroom designated for the opposite sex as disorderly conduct.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 42.01, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (h) and (i) to read
as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person [he]
intentionally or knowingly:
(1) uses abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar
language in a public place, and the language by its very utterance
tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace;
(2) makes an offensive gesture or display in a public
place, and the gesture or display tends to incite an immediate
breach of the peace;
(3) creates, by chemical means, a noxious and
unreasonable odor in a public place;
(4) abuses or threatens a person in a public place in
an obviously offensive manner;
(5) makes unreasonable noise in a public place other
than a sport shooting range, as defined by Section 250.001, Local
Government Code, or in or near a private residence that the person
[he] has no right to occupy;
(6) fights with another in a public place;
(7) discharges a firearm in a public place other than a
public road or a sport shooting range, as defined by Section
250.001, Local Government Code;
(8) displays a firearm or other deadly weapon in a
public place in a manner calculated to alarm;
(9) discharges a firearm on or across a public road;
(10) exposes the person's [his] anus or genitals in a
public place and is reckless about whether another may be present
who will be offended or alarmed by the [his] act; [or]
(11) for a lewd or unlawful purpose:
(A) enters on the property of another and looks
into a dwelling on the property through any window or other opening
in the dwelling;
(B) while on the premises of a hotel or
comparable establishment, looks into a guest room not the person's
own through a window or other opening in the room; or
(C) while on the premises of a public place,
looks into an area such as a restroom or shower stall or changing or
dressing room that is designed to provide privacy to a person using
the area; or
(12) enters a public restroom that is designated by a
sign for members of the opposite sex of the actor.
(h) For the purpose of Subsection (a)(12), a person's sex is
the sex listed on the person's driver's license or personal
identification card issued by this state or another state.
(i) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(12)
that:
(1) the person is:
(A) an adult accompanying a child of the opposite
sex younger than eight years of age; or
(B) a child younger than eight years of age
accompanied by an adult of the opposite sex; or
(2) the restroom used is a single-user restroom with a
door lock.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.