| 1 | 1 | | By: Paxton S.B. No. 3003 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 7 | 7 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 8 | | relating to age verification for the online sale of obscene |
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| 9 | 9 | | devices. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 43, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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| 12 | 12 | | Section 43.29 to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | Sec. 43.29. ONLINE SALE OF OBSCENE DEVICES TO MINORS |
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| 14 | 14 | | PROHIBITED. (a) A person commits an offense if, with criminal |
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| 15 | 15 | | negligence, the person sells or delivers an obscene device online: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) to an individual under the age of 18; or |
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| 17 | 17 | | (2) to any person without implementing an age |
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| 18 | 18 | | verification process at the point of sale to reasonably ensure that |
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| 19 | 19 | | the purchaser is 18 years of age or older. |
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| 20 | 20 | | (b) For the purposes of this section, "age verification |
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| 21 | 21 | | process" means a commercially reasonable age verification method as |
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| 22 | 22 | | referenced under Section 129B.003 of the Civil Practices and |
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| 23 | 23 | | Remedies Code to verify a purchaser's age including, but not |
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| 24 | 24 | | limited to: |
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| 25 | 25 | | (1) the requirement to submit a government-issued |
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| 26 | 26 | | photographic identification; |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2) third-party age verification services that use |
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| 28 | 28 | | public records or other reliable sources to verify the purchaser's |
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| 29 | 29 | | identity and age; or |
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| 30 | 30 | | (3) exclusive use of payment methods that are |
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| 31 | 31 | | restricted to individuals 18 years of age of older, provided such |
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| 32 | 32 | | verification is supplemented by another age verification method. |
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| 33 | 33 | | (c) It is a defence to prosecution under this section that |
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| 34 | 34 | | the minor falsely represented themselves to be 18 years of age or |
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| 35 | 35 | | older by providing a government-issued identification card or other |
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| 36 | 36 | | documentation that: |
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| 37 | 37 | | (1) appears to be valid on its face; or |
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| 38 | 38 | | (2) the minor presents a form of identification that |
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| 39 | 39 | | is valid but was not issued to the minor. |
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| 40 | 40 | | (d) A violation of this section is a Class A Misdemeanour. |
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| 41 | 41 | | (e) A person who violates this section is also subject to a |
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| 42 | 42 | | civil penalty of an amount not to exceed $5,000 for each violation |
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| 43 | 43 | | under Chapter 43. |
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| 44 | 44 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 45 | 45 | | an action brought on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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| 46 | 46 | | action brought before the effective date of this Act is governed by |
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| 47 | 47 | | the law applicable to the action immediately before the effective |
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| 48 | 48 | | date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that |
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| 49 | 49 | | purpose. |
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| 50 | 50 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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