Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1870 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R9561 JSC-D
2	2	By: Rosenthal H.B. No. 1870
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to prohibiting certain conduct intended to intimidate or
8	8	interfere with a person seeking or providing health care services
9	9	or attending an established place of religious worship; increasing
10	10	a criminal penalty.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 42.01(d), Penal Code, is amended to read
13	13	as follows:
14	14	(d) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor,
15	15	except that the offense is a Class B misdemeanor if the offense was
16	16	[unless] committed:
17	17	(1) under Subsection (a)(7) or (a)(8); or
18	18	(2) under Subsection (a)(4), if the actor engaged in
19	19	the prohibited conduct with the intent to intimidate or interfere
20	20	with a person seeking or providing health care services or
21	21	attending an established place of religious worship[, in which
22	22	event it is a Class B misdemeanor].
23	23	SECTION 2. Section 42.04, Penal Code, is amended by
24	24	amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read
25	25	as follows:
26	26	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), if [If] conduct
27	27	that would otherwise violate Section 42.01(a)(5) (Unreasonable
28	28	Noise), 42.03 (Obstructing Passageway), or 42.055 (Funeral Service
29	29	Disruptions) consists of speech or other communication, of
30	30	gathering with others to hear or observe such speech or
31	31	communication, or of gathering with others to picket or otherwise
32	32	express in a nonviolent manner a position on social, economic,
33	33	political, or religious questions, the actor must be ordered to
34	34	move, disperse, or otherwise remedy the violation prior to his
35	35	arrest if he has not yet intentionally harmed the interests of
36	36	others which those sections seek to protect.
37	37	(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), it [It] is a
38	38	defense to prosecution under Section 42.01(a)(5), 42.03, or 42.055:
39	39	(1) that in circumstances in which this section
40	40	requires an order no order was given;
41	41	(2) that an order, if given, was manifestly
42	42	unreasonable in scope; or
43	43	(3) that an order, if given, was promptly obeyed.
44	44	(d) An order under Subsection (a) is not required, and the
45	45	defense provided under Subsection (c) does not apply, in the
46	46	prosecution of an offense under Section 42.03 if the actor engaged
47	47	in the prohibited conduct with respect to the entry of a health care
48	48	facility or established place of religious worship and with the
49	49	intent to intimidate or interfere with a person seeking or
50	50	providing health care services at the facility or attending the
51	51	place of worship, as applicable.
52	52	SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only to
53	53	an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
54	54	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
55	55	by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
56	56	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
57	57	this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
58	58	this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
59	59	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.