By: Middleton S.B. No. 2595
(In the Senate - Filed March 13, 2025; April 3, 2025, read
first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
April 7, 2025, re-referred to Committee on State Affairs;
April 22, 2025, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 10, Nays 0; April 22, 2025,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2595 By: Hughes
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of the criminal offense of harassing,
intimidating, or threatening another person while concealing
identity with a mask or other headgear.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 42, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Section 42.16 to read as follows:
Sec. 42.16. HARASSING, INTIMIDATING, OR THREATENING PERSON
WHILE CONCEALING IDENTITY WITH MASK OR OTHER HEADGEAR. (a) In this
section:
(1) "Harass" means to engage in a pattern of conduct
directed at a particular person or group of persons that is intended
to cause the person or group to:
(A) fear for the person's or group's safety; or
(B) experience substantial emotional distress.
(2) "Intimidate" means to engage in conduct that is
intended to cause another person or group of persons, out of fear
for the person's or group's safety, to take, or refrain from taking,
certain actions.
(3) "Mask or other headgear" means any article or
device worn on a person's head that tends to conceal the identity
of, or substantially increase the difficulty in identifying, the
person wearing the article or device.
(4) "Threaten" means to communicate a clear intention
to cause imminent bodily injury or death to a person.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person, while wearing
a mask or other headgear for the purpose of concealing the identity
of the person or substantially increasing the difficulty in
identifying the person, intentionally harasses, intimidates, or
threatens another person or group of persons in a public place.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
(d) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
section that the mask or other headgear is worn primarily:
(1) to celebrate a holiday or participate in a
celebration at which a mask or other headgear is commonly worn,
including Halloween or a masquerade ball;
(2) to ensure physical safety while engaged in an
occupation, trade, or profession;
(3) to ensure protection from the weather or while
participating in a winter sport;
(4) for purposes of a theatrical production or other
artistic endeavor;
(5) for purposes of ensuring safety during an
emergency, including while participating in an emergency drill;
(6) to protect a person's health or ensure that the
person does not spread illness; or
(7) for any religious purpose.
(e) If conduct constituting an offense under this section
also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the
actor may be prosecuted under either section or both sections.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
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