89R4101 JSC-F
By: Eckhardt S.B. No. 797
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the unlawful installation or use of a tracking device.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 16.06, Penal Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 16.06. UNLAWFUL INSTALLATION OR USE OF TRACKING
DEVICE.
SECTION 2. Section 16.06, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), (d), and (e) and adding Subsection
(d-1) to read as follows:
(a) In this section:
(1) "Effective consent" includes consent by a person
legally authorized to act on behalf of the person from whom consent
is required. Consent is not effective if:
(A) induced by deception, coercion, fraud,
force, or threat;
(B) given by a person the actor knows is not
legally authorized to act regarding the matter; or
(C) given by a person who by reason of youth,
mental illness, intellectual disability, or intoxication is known
by the actor to be unable to make reasonable decisions.
(2) "Electronic or mechanical tracking device" means a
device capable of emitting an electronic frequency or other signal
that may be used by a person to identify, monitor, or record the
location of another person or object.
(3) "Minor" means a person younger than 18 years of
age.
(4) [(2)] "Motor vehicle" has the meaning assigned by
Section 501.002, Transportation Code.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly:
(1) installs an electronic or mechanical tracking
device on a motor vehicle owned or leased by another person; or
(2) uses an electronic or mechanical tracking device
to determine the location or movement of another person.
(d) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
section that the person:
(1) obtained the effective consent of:
(A) the owner or lessee of the motor vehicle
before the electronic or mechanical tracking device was installed
as described by Subsection (b)(1); or
(B) the person whose location or movement is
being tracked as described by Subsection (b)(2);
(2) is a parent, guardian, conservator, or legal
custodian of a minor and uses an electronic or mechanical tracking
device as described by Subsection (b)(2) to track the location or
movement of the minor;
(3) assisted another whom the person reasonably
believed to be a peace officer authorized to install or use the
device in the course of a criminal investigation or pursuant to an
order of a court to gather information for a law enforcement agency;
or
(4) [(3)] was a private investigator licensed under
Chapter 1702, Occupations Code, who:
(A) installed the device as described by
Subsection (b)(1)[:
[(A)] with written consent:
(i) to install the device given by the owner
or lessee of the motor vehicle; and
(ii) to enter private residential property,
if that entry was necessary to install the device, given by the
owner or lessee of the property; or
(B) installed or used a device pursuant to an
order of or other authorization from a court to gather information.
(d-1) The affirmative defense described by Subsection
(d)(1) is unavailable if the actor uses the electronic or
mechanical tracking device for a purpose other than the purpose for
which the consent was given.
(e) This section does not apply to a peace officer who
installed or used the device in the course of a criminal
investigation or pursuant to an order of a court to gather
information for a law enforcement agency.
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, 2025.