88R1496 CJD-D
By: Eckhardt S.B. No. 206
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of the offense of criminal trespass.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 30.05(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally,
knowingly, or recklessly enters or remains on or in property of
another, including residential land, agricultural land, a
recreational vehicle park, a building, a general residential
operation operating as a residential treatment center, or an
aircraft or other vehicle, without effective consent and the
person:
(1) had notice that the entry was forbidden; or
(2) received notice to depart but failed to do so.
SECTION 2. Section 30.05(b)(2), Penal Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(2) "Notice" means:
(A) oral or written communication or other
personal notice that is given by the owner or someone with apparent
authority to act for the owner and that a reasonable person would
understand;
(B) fencing or other enclosure [obviously]
designed to exclude intruders or to contain livestock and
maintained in a condition that would lead a reasonable person to
believe that the enclosure was intended to serve that purpose;
(C) a sign or signs posted on the property or at
the entrance to the building, reasonably likely to come to the
attention of intruders, clearly and explicitly indicating that
entry is forbidden;
(D) the placement of identifying purple paint
marks on trees or posts on the property, provided that the marks
are:
(i) vertical lines of not less than eight
inches in length and not less than one inch in width;
(ii) placed so that the bottom of the mark
is not less than three feet from the ground or more than five feet
from the ground; and
(iii) placed at locations that are readily
visible to any person approaching the property and no more than:
(a) 100 feet apart on forest land; or
(b) 1,000 feet apart on land other
than forest land; or
(E) the visible presence on the property of a
crop grown for human consumption that is under cultivation, in the
process of being harvested, or marketable if harvested at the time
of entry.
SECTION 3. The change in law made 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 section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.