H.B. No. 98
AN ACT
relating to civil and criminal liability for the unlawful
disclosure of intimate visual material.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 98B.002(a), Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A defendant is liable, as provided by this chapter, to a
person depicted in intimate visual material for damages arising
from the disclosure of the material if:
(1) the defendant discloses the intimate visual
material without the effective consent of the depicted person and
with the intent to harm that person;
(2) at the time of the disclosure, the defendant knows
or has reason to believe that the intimate visual material was
obtained by the defendant or created under circumstances in which
the depicted person had a reasonable expectation that the material
would remain private;
(3) the disclosure of the intimate visual material
causes harm to the depicted person; and
(4) the disclosure of the intimate visual material
reveals the identity of the depicted person in any manner,
including through:
(A) any accompanying or subsequent information
or material related to the intimate visual material; or
(B) information or material provided by a third
party in response to the disclosure of the intimate visual
material.
SECTION 2. Section 21.16(b), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(b) A person commits an offense if:
(1) without the effective consent of the depicted
person and with the intent to harm that person, the person
[intentionally] discloses visual material depicting another person
with the person's intimate parts exposed or engaged in sexual
conduct;
(2) at the time of the disclosure, the person knows or
has reason to believe that the visual material was obtained by the
person or created under circumstances in which the depicted person
had a reasonable expectation that the visual material would remain
private;
(3) the disclosure of the visual material causes harm
to the depicted person; and
(4) the disclosure of the visual material reveals the
identity of the depicted person in any manner, including through:
(A) any accompanying or subsequent information
or material related to the visual material; or
(B) information or material provided by a third
party in response to the disclosure of the visual material.
SECTION 3. (a) Section 98B.002, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a cause of
action that accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. A
cause of action that accrues before the effective date of this Act
is governed by the law applicable to the cause of action immediately
before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
(b) Section 21.16, Penal Code, as amended 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 subsection, an offense was committed
before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
was committed before that date.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 98 was passed by the House on April
25, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 136, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 98 was passed by the Senate on May 19,
2019, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor