89R2443 JDK-D
By: Canales H.B. No. 1904
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the release of a balloon and associated littering;
creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 365.011, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subdivision (1-a) and amending Subdivision (6) to
read as follows:
(1-a) "Balloon" means a bag of rubber, latex, Mylar,
or similar inflatable material.
(6) "Litter" means:
(A) decayable waste from a public or private
establishment, residence, or restaurant, including animal and
vegetable waste material from a market or storage facility handling
or storing produce or other food products, or the handling,
preparation, cooking, or consumption of food, but not including
sewage, body wastes, or industrial by-products; or
(B) nondecayable solid waste, except ashes, that
consists of:
(i) combustible waste material, including
paper, rags, cartons, wood, excelsior, furniture, rubber,
balloons, plastics, yard trimmings, leaves, or similar materials;
(ii) noncombustible waste material,
including glass, crockery, tin or aluminum cans, metal furniture,
and similar materials that do not burn at ordinary incinerator
temperatures of 1800 degrees Fahrenheit or less; and
(iii) discarded or worn-out manufactured
materials and machinery, including motor vehicles and parts of
motor vehicles, tires, aircraft, farm implements, building or
construction materials, appliances, and scrap metal.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 365, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 365.018 to read as follows:
Sec. 365.018. RELEASE OF BALLOON; CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) A
person commits an offense if the person intentionally releases or
causes to be released a balloon inflated with lighter-than-air gas
outside a roofed structure.
(b) It is an exception to the application of Subsection (a)
that the balloon was:
(1) a balloon released for scientific or
meteorological purposes on behalf of a governmental agency or under
a governmental contract; or
(2) a hot air balloon recovered after launching.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor
if:
(1) the total weight of balloons released by the
actor, after deflation, is five pounds or less; or
(2) the total volume of balloons released by the
actor, after deflation, is five gallons or less.
(d) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor
if:
(1) the total weight of balloons released by the
actor, after deflation, is more than five pounds but less than 500
pounds; or
(2) the total volume of balloons released by the
actor, after deflation, is more than five gallons but less than 100
cubic feet.
(e) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor
if:
(1) the total weight of balloons released by the
actor, after deflation, is 500 pounds or more but less than 1,000
pounds;
(2) the total volume of balloons released by the
actor, after deflation, is 100 cubic feet or more but less than 200
cubic feet; or
(3) the balloon release was for a commercial purpose
and:
(A) the total weight of balloons released by the
actor, after deflation, is more than five pounds but less than 200
pounds; or
(B) the total volume of balloons released by the
actor, after deflation, is more than five gallons but less than 200
cubic feet.
(f) An offense under this section is a state jail felony if:
(1) the total weight of balloons released by the
actor, after deflation, is 1,000 pounds or more;
(2) the total volume of balloons released by the
actor, after deflation, is 200 cubic feet or more; or
(3) the balloon release was for a commercial purpose
and:
(A) the total weight of balloons released by the
actor, after deflation, is 200 pounds or more; or
(B) the total volume of balloons released by the
actor, after deflation, is 200 cubic feet or more.
(g) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the
punishment for an offense under this section is increased to the
punishment prescribed for the next higher category of offense if it
is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has
previously been convicted of an offense under this section. If an
offense under this section is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor,
the minimum term of confinement for the offense is increased to 180
days.
(h) On conviction of an offense under this section, the
court shall require the defendant, in addition to the penalties
prescribed by this section, to perform community service as
provided by Article 42A.304(e), Code of Criminal Procedure.
(i) Chapter 15, Penal Code, applies to an offense under this
section.
(j) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this
section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor
may be prosecuted under this section or the other law, but not both.
SECTION 3. Article 42A.304(e), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(e) A defendant required to perform community service under
this article after conviction of an offense under Section 352.082,
Local Government Code, or Section 365.012, 365.013, [or] 365.016,
or 365.018, Health and Safety Code, shall perform the amount of
service ordered by the court, which may not exceed 60 hours. The
community service must consist of picking up litter in the county in
which the defendant resides or working at a recycling facility if a
program for performing that type of service is available in the
community in which the court is located. A court may credit the
amount of community service performed by a defendant under this
subsection toward any amount of community service the defendant is
ordered to perform under another provision of this code as a result
of the defendant's inability to pay a fine or cost imposed in the
judgment for the applicable offense.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.