S.B. No. 126
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the requirement that a victim of the offense of
1-2 stalking must have previously reported the stalking conduct;
1-3 providing penalties.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 42.07, Penal Code, is amended to read as
1-6 follows:
1-7 Sec. 42.07. HARASSMENT. (a) A person commits an offense
1-8 if, with intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or
1-9 embarrass another, he:
1-10 (1) initiates communication by telephone or in writing
1-11 and in the course of the communication makes a comment, request,
1-12 suggestion, or proposal that is obscene;
1-13 (2) threatens, by telephone or in writing, in a manner
1-14 reasonably likely to alarm the person receiving the threat, to
1-15 inflict bodily injury on the person or to commit a felony against
1-16 the person, a member of his family, or his property;
1-17 (3) conveys, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm
1-18 the person receiving the report, a false report, which is known by
1-19 the conveyor to be false, that another person has suffered death or
1-20 serious bodily injury;
1-21 (4) causes the telephone of another to ring repeatedly
1-22 or makes repeated telephone communications anonymously or in a
1-23 manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment,
1-24 embarrass, or offend another;
2-1 (5) makes a telephone call and intentionally fails to
2-2 hang up or disengage the connection; or
2-3 (6) knowingly permits a telephone under his control to
2-4 be used by a person to commit an offense under this section<; or>
2-5 <(7)(A) on more than one occasion engages in conduct
2-6 directed specifically toward the other person, including following
2-7 that person, that is reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm,
2-8 abuse, torment, or embarrass that person;>
2-9 <(B) on at least one of those occasions by acts
2-10 or words threatens to inflict bodily injury on that person or to
2-11 commit an offense against that person, a member of that person's
2-12 family, or that person's property; and>
2-13 <(C) on at least one of those occasions engages
2-14 in the conduct after the person toward whom the conduct is
2-15 specifically directed has reported to a law enforcement agency the
2-16 conduct described by this subdivision>.
2-17 (b) For purposes of Subsection (a)(1), "obscene" means
2-18 containing a patently offensive description of or a solicitation to
2-19 commit an ultimate sex act, including sexual intercourse,
2-20 masturbation, cunnilingus, fellatio, or anilingus, or a description
2-21 of an excretory function. In this section, "family" has the
2-22 meaning assigned by Section 71.01, Family Code.
2-23 (c) An offense under this section <Subsections
2-24 (a)(1)-(a)(6)> is a Class B misdemeanor.
2-25 <(d) An offense under Subsection (a)(7) is a Class A
2-26 misdemeanor, except that the offense is a felony of the third
2-27 degree if the actor has previously been convicted under Subsection
3-1 (a)(7).>
3-2 <(e) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
3-3 Subsection (a)(7) that the actor was engaged in conduct that
3-4 consisted of activity in support of constitutionally or statutorily
3-5 protected rights.>
3-6 SECTION 2. Chapter 42, Penal Code, is amended by adding
3-7 Section 42.071 to read as follows:
3-8 Sec. 42.071. STALKING. (a) A person commits an offense if,
3-9 with intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass
3-10 another, he:
3-11 (1) on more than one occasion engages in conduct
3-12 directed specifically toward another person, including following
3-13 that person, that is reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm,
3-14 abuse, torment, or embarrass that person; and
3-15 (2) on at least one of those occasions by acts or
3-16 words threatens to inflict bodily injury on that person or to
3-17 commit an offense against that person, a member of that person's
3-18 family, or that person's property.
3-19 (b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
3-20 except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the
3-21 actor has previously been convicted under this section.
3-22 (c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
3-23 section that the actor was engaged in conduct that consisted of
3-24 activity in support of constitutionally or statutorily protected
3-25 rights.
3-26 (d) In this section, "family" has the meaning assigned by
3-27 Section 71.01, Family Code.
4-1 SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Article 17.46, Code of Criminal
4-2 Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
4-3 (a) A magistrate may require as a condition of release on
4-4 bond that a defendant charged with an offense under Section 42.071
4-5 <42.07(a)(7)>, Penal Code, may not:
4-6 (1) communicate directly or indirectly with the
4-7 victim; or
4-8 (2) go to or near the residence, place of employment,
4-9 or business of the victim or to or near a school, day-care
4-10 facility, or similar facility where a dependent child of the victim
4-11 is in attendance.
4-12 SECTION 4. Subdivision (1), Subsection (l), Section 11,
4-13 Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as
4-14 follows:
4-15 (1) If the court grants probation to a person
4-16 convicted of an offense under Section 42.071 <42.07(a)(7)>, Penal
4-17 Code, the court may require as a condition of probation that the
4-18 probationer may not:
4-19 (A) communicate directly or indirectly with the
4-20 victim; or
4-21 (B) go to or near the residence, place of
4-22 employment, or business of the victim or to or near a school,
4-23 day-care facility, or similar facility where a dependent child of
4-24 the victim is in attendance.
4-25 SECTION 5. Subdivision (1), Subsection (o), Section 8,
4-26 Article 42.18, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by Chapter 10,
4-27 Acts of the 73rd Legislature, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
5-1 (1) In addition to other conditions imposed by a
5-2 parole panel under this article, the parole panel may require as a
5-3 condition of parole or release to mandatory supervision that an
5-4 inmate serving a sentence for an offense under Section 42.071
5-5 <42.07(a)(7)>, Penal Code, may not:
5-6 (A) communicate directly or indirectly with the
5-7 victim; or
5-8 (B) go to or near the residence, place of
5-9 employment, or business of the victim or to or near a school,
5-10 day-care facility, or similar facility where a dependent child of
5-11 the victim is in attendance.
5-12 SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Article 56.11, Code of Criminal
5-13 Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
5-14 (a) The institutional division of the Texas Department of
5-15 Criminal Justice shall notify the victim of the offense and local
5-16 law enforcement officials in the county where the victim resides
5-17 whenever a person convicted of a felony offense under Subsection
5-18 (a) <(a)(7)> as enhanced by Subsection (b) <(d)> of Section 42.071
5-19 <42.07>, Penal Code:
5-20 (1) completes the person's sentence and is released;
5-21 or
5-22 (2) escapes from a facility operated by the
5-23 institutional division.
5-24 SECTION 7. Subsection (i), Section 501.006, Government Code,
5-25 is amended to read as follows:
5-26 (i) The institutional division may not grant a furlough to
5-27 an inmate convicted of an offense under Section 42.071
6-1 <42.07(a)(7)>, Penal Code.
6-2 SECTION 8. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
6-3 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
6-4 Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
6-5 the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
6-6 before the effective date.
6-7 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
6-8 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
6-9 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
6-10 SECTION 9. The importance of this legislation and the
6-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
6-15 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
6-16 passage, and it is so enacted.