By: Danburg H.B. No. 773
73R4109 GWK-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the creation of the offense of harassment, terroristic
1-3 threat, and stalking, to conditions for release on bond for that
1-4 offense, and to conditions for probation, parole, or release on
1-5 mandatory supervision for a person convicted of that offense.
1-6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-7 SECTION 1. Section 22.07, Penal Code, is amended to read as
1-8 follows:
1-9 Sec. 22.07. HARASSMENT, TERRORISTIC THREAT, AND STALKING.
1-10 (a) In this section:
1-11 (1) "Harass" means to engage in activity that is not
1-12 legally protected and that would abuse, alarm, annoy, or torment a
1-13 reasonable person.
1-14 (2) "Obscene" means containing a patently offensive
1-15 description of, or a solicitation to commit, an ultimate sex act,
1-16 including sexual intercourse, masturbation, cunnilingus, fellatio,
1-17 or anilingus, or a description of an excretory function.
1-18 (b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
1-19 harasses another person by:
1-20 (1) initiating communication of any kind and in the
1-21 course of the communication makes a comment, request, suggestion,
1-22 or proposition that is obscene;
1-23 (2) threatening to inflict serious bodily injury on
1-24 the person, or to commit a felony against the person, a member of
2-1 the person's family, or the person's property;
2-2 (3) conveying a false report, which the actor knows to
2-3 be false, that another person has suffered death or serious bodily
2-4 injury;
2-5 (4) causing the telephone to ring repeatedly or making
2-6 repeated telephone communications anonymously;
2-7 (5) making a telephone call and intentionally failing
2-8 to hang up or disengage the connection;
2-9 (6) permitting a telephone under the actor's control
2-10 to be used by another person to commit an offense under this
2-11 subsection; or
2-12 (7) engaging in a pattern of other activity that
2-13 demonstrates a continuity of purpose to harass that person,
2-14 including:
2-15 (A) following the person; or
2-16 (B) placing the person under surveillance by
2-17 remaining present outside the person's home, school, place of
2-18 employment, motor vehicle, or other place occupied by the person.
2-19 (c) A person commits an offense if he threatens to commit
2-20 any offense involving violence to any person or property with
2-21 intent to:
2-22 (1) cause a reaction of any type to his threat by an
2-23 official or volunteer agency organized to deal with emergencies;
2-24 (2) place any person in fear of imminent serious
2-25 bodily injury; or
2-26 (3) prevent or interrupt the occupation or use of a
2-27 building; room; place of assembly; place to which the public has
3-1 access; place of employment or occupation; aircraft, automobile, or
3-2 other form of conveyance; or other public place; or
3-3 (4) cause impairment or interruption of public
3-4 communications, public transportation, public water, gas, or power
3-5 supply or other public service.
3-6 (d) Except as provided by Subsection (f) of this section, an
3-7 offense under Subsection (b) of this section is a Class B
3-8 misdemeanor.
3-9 (e) Except as provided by Subsection (f) of this section, an
3-10 offense under Subsection (c) of this section is a Class A
3-11 misdemeanor.
3-12 (f) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
3-13 degree if it is shown at the trial of the offense that the actor
3-14 engaged in a pattern of activity that includes at least one act
3-15 prohibited under Subsection (b) of this section and at least one
3-16 act prohibited under Subsection (c) of this section.
3-17 (g) If conduct constituting an offense under this section
3-18 also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the
3-19 actor may be prosecuted under either section.
3-20 <(b) An offense under Subdivision (1) or (2) of Subsection
3-21 (a) of this section is a Class B misdemeanor. An offense under
3-22 Subdivision (3) of Subsection (a) of this section is a Class A
3-23 misdemeanor. An offense under Subdivision (4) of Subsection (a) of
3-24 this section is a felony of the third degree.>
3-25 SECTION 2. Article 14.03(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
3-26 amended to read as follows:
3-27 (a) Any peace officer may arrest, without warrant:
4-1 (1) persons found in suspicious places and under
4-2 circumstances which reasonably show that such persons have been
4-3 guilty of some felony or breach of the peace, or threaten, or are
4-4 about to commit some offense against the laws;
4-5 (2) persons who the peace officer has probable cause
4-6 to believe have committed an assault resulting in bodily injury to
4-7 another person and the peace officer has probable cause to believe
4-8 that there is danger of further bodily injury to that person;
4-9 (3) persons who the peace officer has probable cause
4-10 to believe have committed the offense defined by Section 25.08,
4-11 Penal Code (violation of Protective Order), if the offense is not
4-12 committed in the presence of the peace officer; <or>
4-13 (4) persons who the peace officer has probable cause
4-14 to believe have committed an assault resulting in bodily injury to
4-15 a member of the person's family or household; or
4-16 (5) persons who the peace officer has probable cause
4-17 to believe have committed an offense defined by Section 22.07,
4-18 Penal Code (Harassment, Terroristic Threat, and Stalking).
4-19 SECTION 3. Chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
4-20 amended by adding Article 17.46 to read as follows:
4-21 Art. 17.46. CONDITIONS FOR A VICTIM BEING STALKED BY A
4-22 DEFENDANT. (a) A magistrate may require as a condition of bond
4-23 that a defendant charged with an offense under Section 22.07, Penal
4-24 Code, may not:
4-25 (1) communicate directly or indirectly with the
4-26 victim; or
4-27 (2) go to or near the residence, place of employment,
5-1 or business of the victim or to or near a school, day-care
5-2 facility, or similar facility where a dependent child of the victim
5-3 is in attendance.
5-4 (b) If the magistrate requires the prohibition contained in
5-5 Subsection (a)(2) of this article as a condition of the bond, the
5-6 magistrate shall specifically describe the prohibited locations and
5-7 the minimum distances, if any, that the defendant must maintain
5-8 from the locations.
5-9 SECTION 4. Section 11, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal
5-10 Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (l) to read as follows:
5-11 (l)(1) If the court grants probation to a person convicted
5-12 of an offense under Section 22.07, Penal Code, the court may
5-13 require as a condition of probation that the probationer may not:
5-14 (A) communicate directly or indirectly with the
5-15 victim; or
5-16 (B) go to or near the residence, place of
5-17 employment, or business of the victim or to or near a school,
5-18 day-care facility, or similar facility where a dependent child of
5-19 the victim is in attendance.
5-20 (2) If the court requires the prohibition contained in
5-21 Subdivision (1)(B) of this subsection as a condition of probation,
5-22 the court shall specifically describe the prohibited locations and
5-23 the minimum distances, if any, that the probationer must maintain
5-24 from the locations.
5-25 SECTION 5. Section 8, Article 42.18, Code of Criminal
5-26 Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (o) to read as follows:
5-27 (o)(1) In addition to other conditions imposed by a parole
6-1 panel under this article, the parole panel may require as a
6-2 condition of parole or release to mandatory supervision that an
6-3 inmate serving a sentence for an offense under Section 22.07, Penal
6-4 Code, may not:
6-5 (A) communicate directly or indirectly with the
6-6 victim; or
6-7 (B) go to or near the residence, place of
6-8 employment, or business of the victim or to or near a school,
6-9 day-care facility, or similar facility where a dependent child of
6-10 the victim is in attendance.
6-11 (2) If a parole panel requires the prohibition
6-12 contained in Subdivision (1)(B) of this subsection as a condition
6-13 of parole or release to mandatory supervision, the parole panel
6-14 shall specifically describe the prohibited locations and the
6-15 minimum distances, if any, that the inmate must maintain from the
6-16 locations.
6-17 SECTION 6. Chapter 56, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
6-18 amended by adding Article 56.11 to read as follows:
6-19 Art. 56.11. NOTIFICATION TO STALKING VICTIM. (a) The
6-20 institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
6-21 shall notify the victim of the offense and local law enforcement
6-22 officials in the county where the victim resides whenever a person
6-23 convicted of a felony offense under Section 22.07, Penal Code:
6-24 (1) is released on parole or mandatory supervision;
6-25 (2) completes the person's sentence and is released;
6-26 (3) escapes from a facility operated by the
6-27 institutional division; or
7-1 (4) is transferred to a less restrictive facility.
7-2 (b) If the institutional division notifies a stalking victim
7-3 that the defendant's confinement status has changed under
7-4 Subsection (a)(1) or (2) of this article, the notice must include a
7-5 statement that the victim has the right to apply to a court of
7-6 competent jurisdiction for a protective order from conduct by the
7-7 defendant.
7-8 SECTION 7. Section 42.07, Penal Code, is repealed.
7-9 SECTION 8. (a) The change in law made by Section 1 of this
7-10 Act applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective
7-11 date of this Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is
7-12 committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
7-13 the offense occurs before that date.
7-14 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
7-15 Act is governed by the law in effect when the offense was
7-16 committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
7-17 purpose.
7-18 SECTION 9. The repeal by this Act of Section 42.07, Penal
7-19 Code, does not apply to an offense committed under that section
7-20 before the effective date of the repeal. An offense committed
7-21 before that date is covered by that section as it existed on the
7-22 date on which the offense was committed, and the former law is
7-23 continued in effect for that purpose.
7-24 SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
7-25 SECTION 11. The importance of this legislation and the
7-26 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-27 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-1 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-2 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.