Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3425 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R9876 CJD-D
2	2	By: Capriglione H.B. No. 3425
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the prosecution of certain criminal offenses involving
10	10	the unlawful disclosure of a residence address or telephone number.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Sections 36.06(a-1) and (d), Penal Code, are
13	13	amended to read as follows:
14	14	(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person posts on a
15	15	publicly accessible website or discloses through an electronic
16	16	communication the residence address or telephone number of an
17	17	individual the actor knows is a public servant or a member of a
18	18	public servant's family or household with the intent to cause harm
19	19	or a threat of harm to the individual or a member of the
20	20	individual's family or household in retaliation for or on account
21	21	of the service or status of the individual as a public servant.
22	22	(d) For purposes of an offense under Subsection (a-1)
23	23	involving the posting of a residence address or telephone number on
24	24	a publicly accessible website, it is prima facie evidence of the
25	25	intent to cause harm or a threat of harm to an individual the person
26	26	knows is a public servant or a member of a public servant's family
27	27	or household if the actor:
28	28	(1) receives a written demand from the individual to
29	29	not disclose the address or telephone number for reasons of safety;
30	30	and
31	31	(2) either:
32	32	(A) fails to remove the address or telephone
33	33	number from the publicly accessible website within a period of 48
34	34	hours after receiving the demand; or
35	35	(B) reposts the address or telephone number on
36	36	the same or a different publicly accessible website, or makes the
37	37	information publicly available through another medium, within a
38	38	period of four years after receiving the demand, regardless of
39	39	whether the individual is no longer a public servant.
40	40	SECTION 2. Section 36.06(b), Penal Code, is amended by
41	41	amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as
42	42	follows:
43	43	(1) "Electronic communication" has the meaning
44	44	assigned by Section 42.07.
45	45	(1-a) "Honorably retired peace officer" means a peace
46	46	officer who:
47	47	(A) did not retire in lieu of any disciplinary
48	48	action;
49	49	(B) was eligible to retire from a law enforcement
50	50	agency or was ineligible to retire only as a result of an injury
51	51	received in the course of the officer's employment with the agency;
52	52	and
53	53	(C) is entitled to receive a pension or annuity
54	54	for service as a law enforcement officer or is not entitled to
55	55	receive a pension or annuity only because the law enforcement
56	56	agency that employed the officer does not offer a pension or annuity
57	57	to its employees.
58	58	SECTION 3. Section 42.074, Penal Code, is amended by
59	59	amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (e) to
60	60	read as follows:
61	61	(a) A person commits an offense if the person posts on a
62	62	publicly accessible website or discloses through an electronic
63	63	communication the residence address or telephone number of an
64	64	individual with the intent to cause harm or a threat of harm to the
65	65	individual or a member of the individual's family or household.
66	66	(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor,
67	67	except that the offense is a Class A misdemeanor if the offense
68	68	results in the bodily injury of:
69	69	(1) the individual whose residence address or
70	70	telephone number was posted on a publicly accessible website or
71	71	disclosed through an electronic communication; or
72	72	(2) a member of the individual's family or household.
73	73	(c) This section does not apply to a public servant who
74	74	posted information described by Subsection (a) to a publicly
75	75	accessible website or disclosed that information through an
76	76	electronic communication in the performance of the public servant's
77	77	duties as required by or in accordance with state or federal law.
78	78	(e) In this section, "electronic communication" has the
79	79	meaning assigned by Section 42.07.
80	80	SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
81	81	an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
82	82	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
83	83	by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
84	84	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
85	85	this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
86	86	this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
87	87	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.