H.B. No. 2715
AN ACT
relating to a prohibition on following an individual and tracking
or monitoring the individual's personal property or motor vehicle
and to the criminal prosecution of that conduct.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 7B.005(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) In a protective order issued under this subchapter, the
court may:
(1) order the alleged offender to take action as
specified by the court that the court determines is necessary or
appropriate to prevent or reduce the likelihood of future harm to
the applicant or a member of the applicant's family or household; or
(2) prohibit the alleged offender from:
(A) communicating:
(i) directly or indirectly with the
applicant or any member of the applicant's family or household in a
threatening or harassing manner; or
(ii) in any manner with the applicant or any
member of the applicant's family or household except through the
applicant's attorney or a person appointed by the court, if the
court finds good cause for the prohibition;
(B) going to or near the residence, place of
employment or business, or child-care facility or school of the
applicant or any member of the applicant's family or household;
(C) engaging in conduct directed specifically
toward the applicant or any member of the applicant's family or
household, including following the person, that is reasonably
likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass the
person; [and]
(D) possessing a firearm, unless the alleged
offender is a peace officer, as defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code,
actively engaged in employment as a sworn, full-time paid employee
of a state agency or political subdivision; and
(E) tracking or monitoring personal property or a
motor vehicle in the possession of the applicant or of a member of
the applicant's family or household, without the applicant's
effective consent, including by:
(i) using a tracking application on a
personal electronic device in the possession of the applicant or
the family or household member or using a tracking device; or
(ii) physically following the applicant or
the family or household member or causing another to physically
follow the applicant or member.
SECTION 2. Article 17.292(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(c) The magistrate in the order for emergency protection may
prohibit the arrested party from:
(1) committing:
(A) family violence or an assault on the person
protected under the order; or
(B) an act in furtherance of an offense under
Section 20A.02 or 42.072, Penal Code;
(2) communicating:
(A) directly with a member of the family or
household or with the person protected under the order in a
threatening or harassing manner;
(B) a threat through any person to a member of the
family or household or to the person protected under the order; or
(C) if the magistrate finds good cause, in any
manner with a person protected under the order or a member of the
family or household of a person protected under the order, except
through the party's attorney or a person appointed by the court;
(3) going to or near:
(A) the residence, place of employment, or
business of a member of the family or household or of the person
protected under the order; or
(B) the residence, child care facility, or school
where a child protected under the order resides or attends; [or]
(4) possessing a firearm, unless the person is a peace
officer, as defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, actively engaged
in employment as a sworn, full-time paid employee of a state agency
or political subdivision; or
(5) tracking or monitoring personal property or a
motor vehicle in the possession of the person protected under the
order or of a member of the family or household of the person
protected under the order, without the protected person's effective
consent, including by:
(A) using a tracking application on a personal
electronic device in the possession of the person or the family or
household member or using a tracking device; or
(B) physically following the person or the family
or household member or causing another to physically follow the
person or member.
SECTION 3. Article 17.49(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A magistrate may require as a condition of release on
bond that a defendant charged with an offense involving family
violence:
(1) refrain from going to or near a residence, school,
place of employment, or other location, as specifically described
in the bond, frequented by an alleged victim of the offense;
(2) carry or wear a global positioning monitoring
system device and, except as provided by Subsection (h), pay a
reimbursement fee for the costs associated with operating that
system in relation to the defendant; [or]
(3) except as provided by Subsection (h), if the
alleged victim of the offense consents after receiving the
information described by Subsection (d), pay a reimbursement fee
for the costs associated with providing the victim with an
electronic receptor device that:
(A) is capable of receiving the global
positioning monitoring system information from the device carried
or worn by the defendant; and
(B) notifies the victim if the defendant is at or
near a location that the defendant has been ordered to refrain from
going to or near under Subdivision (1); or
(4) refrain from tracking or monitoring personal
property or a motor vehicle in the possession of the alleged victim
of the offense, without the victim's effective consent, including
by:
(A) using a tracking application on a personal
electronic device in the possession of the victim or using a
tracking device; or
(B) physically following the victim or causing
another to physically follow the victim.
SECTION 4. Section 6.501(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) After the filing of a suit for dissolution of a
marriage, on the motion of a party or on the court's own motion, the
court may grant a temporary restraining order without notice to the
adverse party for the preservation of the property and for the
protection of the parties as necessary, including an order
prohibiting one or both parties from:
(1) intentionally communicating in person or in any
other manner, including by telephone or another electronic voice
transmission, video chat, in writing, or electronic messaging, with
the other party by use of vulgar, profane, obscene, or indecent
language or in a coarse or offensive manner, with intent to annoy or
alarm the other party;
(2) threatening the other party in person or in any
other manner, including by telephone or another electronic voice
transmission, video chat, in writing, or electronic messaging, to
take unlawful action against any person, intending by this action
to annoy or alarm the other party;
(3) placing a telephone call, anonymously, at an
unreasonable hour, in an offensive and repetitious manner, or
without a legitimate purpose of communication with the intent to
annoy or alarm the other party;
(4) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing
bodily injury to the other party or to a child of either party;
(5) threatening the other party or a child of either
party with imminent bodily injury;
(6) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly
destroying, removing, concealing, encumbering, transferring, or
otherwise harming or reducing the value of the property of the
parties or either party with intent to obstruct the authority of the
court to order a division of the estate of the parties in a manner
that the court deems just and right, having due regard for the
rights of each party and any children of the marriage;
(7) intentionally falsifying a writing or record,
including an electronic record, relating to the property of either
party;
(8) intentionally misrepresenting or refusing to
disclose to the other party or to the court, on proper request, the
existence, amount, or location of any tangible or intellectual
property of the parties or either party, including electronically
stored or recorded information;
(9) intentionally or knowingly damaging or destroying
the tangible or intellectual property of the parties or either
party, including electronically stored or recorded information;
(10) intentionally or knowingly tampering with the
tangible or intellectual property of the parties or either party,
including electronically stored or recorded information, and
causing pecuniary loss or substantial inconvenience to the other
party;
(11) except as specifically authorized by the court:
(A) selling, transferring, assigning,
mortgaging, encumbering, or in any other manner alienating any of
the property of the parties or either party, regardless of whether
the property is:
(i) personal property, real property, or
intellectual property; or
(ii) separate or community property;
(B) incurring any debt, other than legal expenses
in connection with the suit for dissolution of marriage;
(C) withdrawing money from any checking or
savings account in a financial institution for any purpose;
(D) spending any money in either party's
possession or subject to either party's control for any purpose;
(E) withdrawing or borrowing money in any manner
for any purpose from a retirement, profit sharing, pension, death,
or other employee benefit plan, employee savings plan, individual
retirement account, or Keogh account of either party; or
(F) withdrawing or borrowing in any manner all or
any part of the cash surrender value of a life insurance policy on
the life of either party or a child of the parties;
(12) entering any safe deposit box in the name of or
subject to the control of the parties or either party, whether
individually or jointly with others;
(13) changing or in any manner altering the
beneficiary designation on any life insurance policy on the life of
either party or a child of the parties;
(14) canceling, altering, failing to renew or pay
premiums on, or in any manner affecting the level of coverage that
existed at the time the suit was filed of, any life, casualty,
automobile, or health insurance policy insuring the parties'
property or persons, including a child of the parties;
(15) opening or diverting mail or e-mail or any other
electronic communication addressed to the other party;
(16) signing or endorsing the other party's name on any
negotiable instrument, check, or draft, including a tax refund,
insurance payment, and dividend, or attempting to negotiate any
negotiable instrument payable to the other party without the
personal signature of the other party;
(17) taking any action to terminate or limit credit or
charge credit cards in the name of the other party;
(18) discontinuing or reducing the withholding for
federal income taxes from either party's wages or salary;
(19) destroying, disposing of, or altering any
financial records of the parties, including a canceled check,
deposit slip, and other records from a financial institution, a
record of credit purchases or cash advances, a tax return, and a
financial statement;
(20) destroying, disposing of, or altering any e-mail,
text message, video message, or chat message or other electronic
data or electronically stored information relevant to the subject
matter of the suit for dissolution of marriage, regardless of
whether the information is stored on a hard drive, in a removable
storage device, in cloud storage, or in another electronic storage
medium;
(21) modifying, changing, or altering the native
format or metadata of any electronic data or electronically stored
information relevant to the subject matter of the suit for
dissolution of marriage, regardless of whether the information is
stored on a hard drive, in a removable storage device, in cloud
storage, or in another electronic storage medium;
(22) deleting any data or content from any social
network profile used or created by either party or a child of the
parties;
(23) using any password or personal identification
number to gain access to the other party's e-mail account, bank
account, social media account, or any other electronic account;
(24) terminating or in any manner affecting the
service of water, electricity, gas, telephone, cable television, or
any other contractual service, including security, pest control,
landscaping, or yard maintenance at the residence of either party,
or in any manner attempting to withdraw any deposit paid in
connection with any of those services;
(25) excluding the other party from the use and
enjoyment of a specifically identified residence of the other
party; [or]
(26) entering, operating, or exercising control over a
motor vehicle in the possession of the other party; or
(27) tracking or monitoring personal property or a
motor vehicle in the possession of a party, without that party's
effective consent, including by:
(A) using a tracking application on a personal
electronic device in the possession of that party or using a
tracking device; or
(B) physically following that party or causing
another to physically follow that party.
SECTION 5. Section 85.022(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) In a protective order, the court may prohibit the person
found to have committed family violence from:
(1) committing family violence;
(2) communicating:
(A) directly with a person protected by an order
or a member of the family or household of a person protected by an
order, in a threatening or harassing manner;
(B) a threat through any person to a person
protected by an order or a member of the family or household of a
person protected by an order; and
(C) if the court finds good cause, in any manner
with a person protected by an order or a member of the family or
household of a person protected by an order, except through the
party's attorney or a person appointed by the court;
(3) going to or near the residence or place of
employment or business of a person protected by an order or a member
of the family or household of a person protected by an order;
(4) going to or near the residence, child-care
facility, or school a child protected under the order normally
attends or in which the child normally resides;
(5) engaging in conduct directed specifically toward a
person who is a person protected by an order or a member of the
family or household of a person protected by an order, including
following the person, that is reasonably likely to harass, annoy,
alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass the person;
(6) possessing a firearm, unless the person is a peace
officer, as defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, actively engaged
in employment as a sworn, full-time paid employee of a state agency
or political subdivision; [and]
(7) harming, threatening, or interfering with the
care, custody, or control of a pet, companion animal, or assistance
animal, as defined by Section 121.002, Human Resources Code, that
is possessed by or is in the actual or constructive care of a person
protected by an order or by a member of the family or household of a
person protected by an order; and
(8) tracking or monitoring personal property or a
motor vehicle in the possession of a person protected by an order or
of a member of the family or household of a person protected by an
order, without the person's effective consent, including by:
(A) using a tracking application on a personal
electronic device in the possession of the person or the family or
household member or using a tracking device; or
(B) physically following the person or the family
or household member or causing another to physically follow the
person or member.
SECTION 6. Section 25.07(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if, in violation of a
condition of bond set in a family violence, sexual assault or abuse,
indecent assault, stalking, or trafficking case and related to the
safety of a victim or the safety of the community, an order issued
under Subchapter A, Chapter 7B, Code of Criminal Procedure, an
order issued under Article 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure, an
order issued under Section 6.504, Family Code, Chapter 83, Family
Code, if the temporary ex parte order has been served on the person,
Chapter 85, Family Code, or Subchapter F, Chapter 261, Family Code,
or an order issued by another jurisdiction as provided by Chapter
88, Family Code, the person knowingly or intentionally:
(1) commits family violence or an act in furtherance
of an offense under Section 20A.02, 22.011, 22.012, 22.021, or
42.072;
(2) communicates:
(A) directly with a protected individual or a
member of the family or household in a threatening or harassing
manner;
(B) a threat through any person to a protected
individual or a member of the family or household; or
(C) in any manner with the protected individual
or a member of the family or household except through the person's
attorney or a person appointed by the court, if the violation is of
an order described by this subsection and the order prohibits any
communication with a protected individual or a member of the family
or household;
(3) goes to or near any of the following places as
specifically described in the order or condition of bond:
(A) the residence or place of employment or
business of a protected individual or a member of the family or
household; or
(B) any child care facility, residence, or school
where a child protected by the order or condition of bond normally
resides or attends;
(4) possesses a firearm;
(5) harms, threatens, or interferes with the care,
custody, or control of a pet, companion animal, or assistance
animal that is possessed by a person protected by the order or
condition of bond; [or]
(6) removes, attempts to remove, or otherwise tampers
with the normal functioning of a global positioning monitoring
system; or
(7) tracks or monitors personal property or a motor
vehicle in the possession of a protected individual or of a member
of the family or household of a protected individual, without the
individual's effective consent, including by:
(A) using a tracking application on a personal
electronic device in the possession of the protected individual or
the family or household member or using a tracking device; or
(B) physically following the protected
individual or family or household member or causing another to
physically follow the individual or member.
SECTION 7. Section 42.07, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to harass,
annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass another, the person:
(1) initiates communication and in the course of the
communication makes a comment, request, suggestion, or proposal
that is obscene;
(2) threatens, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm
the person receiving the threat, to inflict bodily injury on the
person or to commit a felony against the person, a member of the
person's family or household, or the person's property;
(3) conveys, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm
the person receiving the report, a false report, which is known by
the conveyor to be false, that another person has suffered death or
serious bodily injury;
(4) causes the telephone of another to ring repeatedly
or makes repeated telephone communications anonymously or in a
manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment,
embarrass, or offend another;
(5) makes a telephone call and intentionally fails to
hang up or disengage the connection;
(6) knowingly permits a telephone under the person's
control to be used by another to commit an offense under this
section;
(7) sends repeated electronic communications in a
manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment,
embarrass, or offend another; [or]
(8) publishes on an Internet website, including a
social media platform, repeated electronic communications in a
manner reasonably likely to cause emotional distress, abuse, or
torment to another person, unless the communications are made in
connection with a matter of public concern; or
(9) tracks or monitors the personal property or motor
vehicle of another person, without the other person's effective
consent, including by:
(A) using a tracking application on the person's
personal electronic device or using a tracking device; or
(B) physically following the other person or
causing any person to physically follow the other person.
(e) For purposes of Subsection (a)(9), it is presumed that a
person did not give effective consent to the actor's conduct if:
(1) an application for a protective or restraining
order against or with respect to the actor has been filed by or on
behalf of the person under Subchapter A, Chapter 7B, Code of
Criminal Procedure, Article 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure,
Section 6.504, Family Code, or Subtitle B, Title 4, Family Code, or
an order has been issued against or with respect to the actor under
one of those provisions; or
(2) the person is married to the actor and a petition
for dissolution of marriage has been filed, or the person was
previously married to the actor and the marriage has been
dissolved.
SECTION 8. (a) Article 7B.005, Code of Criminal Procedure,
as amended by this Act, and Sections 6.501 and 85.022, Family Code,
as amended by this Act, apply only to a protective or restraining
order rendered on or after the effective date of this Act. A
protective or restraining order rendered before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the order
was rendered, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
(b) Article 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended
by this Act, applies only to a magistrate's order for emergency
protection entered on or after the effective date of this Act. A
magistrate's order for emergency protection entered before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the order was entered, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
(c) Article 17.49, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by
this Act, applies only to a defendant released on bond in connection
with an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
Act. A defendant released on bond in connection with an offense
committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect when 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 occurred before that date.
(d) Sections 25.07 and 42.07, Penal Code, as amended by this
Act, apply 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
occurred before that date.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2715 was passed by the House on May 6,
2023, by the following vote: Yeas 133, Nays 1, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2715 was passed by the Senate on May
24, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor