Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1758 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R10105 JRR-D
2	2	By: Zedler H.B. No. 1758
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; creating a criminal offense.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Article 38.49(e), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	(e) A conviction for an offense under Section 36.05 or
13	13	36.06(a) [36.06], Penal Code, creates a presumption of forfeiture
14	14	by wrongdoing under this article.
15	15	SECTION 2. Section 36.06, Penal Code, is amended to read as
16	16	follows:
17	17	Sec. 36.06. OBSTRUCTION OR RETALIATION. (a) A person
18	18	commits an offense if the person [he] intentionally or knowingly
19	19	harms or threatens to harm another by an unlawful act:
20	20	(1) in retaliation for or on account of the service or
21	21	status 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; or
26	26	(2) to prevent or delay the service of another as a:
27	27	(A) public servant, witness, prospective
28	28	witness, or informant; or
29	29	(B) person who has reported or who the actor
30	30	knows intends to report the occurrence of a crime.
31	31	(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person posts on a
32	32	publicly accessible website the residence address or telephone
33	33	number of an individual the actor knows is a public servant or a
34	34	member of a public servant's family or household with the intent to
35	35	cause harm or a threat of harm to the individual or a member of the
36	36	individual's family or household in retaliation for or on account
37	37	of the service or status of the individual as a public servant.
38	38	(b) In this section:
39	39	(1) "Honorably retired peace officer" means a peace
40	40	officer who:
41	41	(A) did not retire in lieu of any disciplinary
42	42	action;
43	43	(B) was eligible to retire from a law enforcement
44	44	agency or was ineligible to retire only as a result of an injury
45	45	received in the course of the officer's employment with the agency;
46	46	and
47	47	(C) is entitled to receive a pension or annuity
48	48	for service as a law enforcement officer or is not entitled to
49	49	receive a pension or annuity only because the law enforcement
50	50	agency that employed the officer does not offer a pension or annuity
51	51	to its employees.
52	52	(2) "Informant" means a person who has communicated
53	53	information to the government in connection with any governmental
54	54	function.
55	55	(3) "Public servant" has the meaning assigned by
56	56	Section 1.07, except that the term also includes an honorably
57	57	retired peace officer.
58	58	(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
59	59	degree, except that the offense is a felony of the second degree if:
60	60	(1) [unless] the victim of the offense was harmed or
61	61	threatened because of the victim's service or status as a juror; or
62	62	(2) the actor's conduct is described by Subsection
63	63	(a-1) and results in the bodily injury of a public servant or a
64	64	member of a public servant's family or household [, in which event
65	65	the offense is a felony of the second degree].
66	66	(d) For purposes of Subsection (a-1), it is prima facie
67	67	evidence of the intent to cause harm or a threat of harm to an
68	68	individual the person knows is a public servant or a member of a
69	69	public servant's family or household if the actor:
70	70	(1) receives a written demand from the individual to
71	71	not disclose the address or telephone number for reasons of safety;
72	72	and
73	73	(2) either:
74	74	(A) fails to remove the address or telephone
75	75	number from the publicly accessible website within a period of 48
76	76	hours after receiving the demand; or
77	77	(B) reposts the address or telephone number on
78	78	the same or a different publicly accessible website, or makes the
79	79	information publicly available through another medium, within a
80	80	period of four years after receiving the demand, regardless of
81	81	whether the individual is no longer a public servant.
82	82	SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
83	83	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
84	84	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
85	85	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
86	86	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
87	87	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
88	88	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
89	89	before that date.
90	90	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.