1-1 By: Moncrief S.B. No. 126
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed December 6, 1994; January 16, 1995,
1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
1-4 January 31, 1995, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0;
1-6 January 31, 1995, sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 126 By: Moncrief
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to the requirement that a victim of the offense of
1-11 stalking must have previously reported the stalking conduct;
1-12 providing penalties.
1-13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-14 SECTION 1. Section 42.07, Penal Code, is amended to read as
1-15 follows:
1-16 Sec. 42.07. HARASSMENT. (a) A person commits an offense
1-17 if, with intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or
1-18 embarrass another, he:
1-19 (1) initiates communication by telephone or in writing
1-20 and in the course of the communication makes a comment, request,
1-21 suggestion, or proposal that is obscene;
1-22 (2) threatens, by telephone or in writing, in a manner
1-23 reasonably likely to alarm the person receiving the threat, to
1-24 inflict bodily injury on the person or to commit a felony against
1-25 the person, a member of his family, or his property;
1-26 (3) conveys, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm
1-27 the person receiving the report, a false report, which is known by
1-28 the conveyor to be false, that another person has suffered death or
1-29 serious bodily injury;
1-30 (4) causes the telephone of another to ring repeatedly
1-31 or makes repeated telephone communications anonymously or in a
1-32 manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment,
1-33 embarrass, or offend another;
1-34 (5) makes a telephone call and intentionally fails to
1-35 hang up or disengage the connection; or
1-36 (6) knowingly permits a telephone under his control to
1-37 be used by a person to commit an offense under this section<; or>
1-38 <(7)(A) on more than one occasion engages in conduct
1-39 directed specifically toward the other person, including following
1-40 that person, that is reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm,
1-41 abuse, torment, or embarrass that person;>
1-42 <(B) on at least one of those occasions by acts
1-43 or words threatens to inflict bodily injury on that person or to
1-44 commit an offense against that person, a member of that person's
1-45 family, or that person's property; and>
1-46 <(C) on at least one of those occasions engages
1-47 in the conduct after the person toward whom the conduct is
1-48 specifically directed has reported to a law enforcement agency the
1-49 conduct described by this subdivision>.
1-50 (b) For purposes of Subsection (a)(1), "obscene" means
1-51 containing a patently offensive description of or a solicitation to
1-52 commit an ultimate sex act, including sexual intercourse,
1-53 masturbation, cunnilingus, fellatio, or anilingus, or a description
1-54 of an excretory function. In this section, "family" has the
1-55 meaning assigned by Section 71.01, Family Code.
1-56 (c) An offense under this section <Subsections
1-57 (a)(1)-(a)(6)> is a Class B misdemeanor.
1-58 <(d) An offense under Subsection (a)(7) is a Class A
1-59 misdemeanor, except that the offense is a felony of the third
1-60 degree if the actor has previously been convicted under Subsection
1-61 (a)(7).>
1-62 <(e) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
1-63 Subsection (a)(7) that the actor was engaged in conduct that
1-64 consisted of activity in support of constitutionally or statutorily
1-65 protected rights.>
1-66 SECTION 2. Chapter 42, Penal Code, is amended by adding
1-67 Section 42.071 to read as follows:
1-68 Sec. 42.071. STALKING. (a) A person commits an offense if,
2-1 with intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass
2-2 another, he:
2-3 (1) on more than one occasion engages in conduct
2-4 directed specifically toward another person, including following
2-5 that person, that is reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm,
2-6 abuse, torment, or embarrass that person; and
2-7 (2) on at least one of those occasions by acts or
2-8 words threatens to inflict bodily injury on that person or to
2-9 commit an offense against that person, a member of that person's
2-10 family, or that person's property.
2-11 (b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
2-12 except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the
2-13 actor has previously been convicted under this section.
2-14 (c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
2-15 section that the actor was engaged in conduct that consisted of
2-16 activity in support of constitutionally or statutorily protected
2-17 rights.
2-18 (d) In this section, "family" has the meaning assigned by
2-19 Section 71.01, Family Code.
2-20 SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Article 17.46, Code of Criminal
2-21 Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
2-22 (a) A magistrate may require as a condition of release on
2-23 bond that a defendant charged with an offense under Section 42.071
2-24 <42.07(a)(7)>, Penal Code, may not:
2-25 (1) communicate directly or indirectly with the
2-26 victim; or
2-27 (2) go to or near the residence, place of employment,
2-28 or business of the victim or to or near a school, day-care
2-29 facility, or similar facility where a dependent child of the victim
2-30 is in attendance.
2-31 SECTION 4. Subdivision (1), Subsection (l), Section 11,
2-32 Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as
2-33 follows:
2-34 (1) If the court grants probation to a person
2-35 convicted of an offense under Section 42.071 <42.07(a)(7)>, Penal
2-36 Code, the court may require as a condition of probation that the
2-37 probationer may not:
2-38 (A) communicate directly or indirectly with the
2-39 victim; or
2-40 (B) go to or near the residence, place of
2-41 employment, or business of the victim or to or near a school,
2-42 day-care facility, or similar facility where a dependent child of
2-43 the victim is in attendance.
2-44 SECTION 5. Subdivision (1), Subsection (o), Section 8,
2-45 Article 42.18, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by Chapter 10,
2-46 Acts of the 73rd Legislature, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
2-47 (1) In addition to other conditions imposed by a
2-48 parole panel under this article, the parole panel may require as a
2-49 condition of parole or release to mandatory supervision that an
2-50 inmate serving a sentence for an offense under Section 42.071
2-51 <42.07(a)(7)>, Penal Code, may not:
2-52 (A) communicate directly or indirectly with the
2-53 victim; or
2-54 (B) go to or near the residence, place of
2-55 employment, or business of the victim or to or near a school,
2-56 day-care facility, or similar facility where a dependent child of
2-57 the victim is in attendance.
2-58 SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Article 56.11, Code of Criminal
2-59 Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
2-60 (a) The institutional division of the Texas Department of
2-61 Criminal Justice shall notify the victim of the offense and local
2-62 law enforcement officials in the county where the victim resides
2-63 whenever a person convicted of a felony offense under Subsection
2-64 (a) <(a)(7)> as enhanced by Subsection (b) <(d)> of Section 42.071
2-65 <42.07>, Penal Code:
2-66 (1) completes the person's sentence and is released;
2-67 or
2-68 (2) escapes from a facility operated by the
2-69 institutional division.
2-70 SECTION 7. Subsection (i), Section 501.006, Government Code,
3-1 is amended to read as follows:
3-2 (i) The institutional division may not grant a furlough to
3-3 an inmate convicted of an offense under Section 42.071
3-4 <42.07(a)(7)>, Penal Code.
3-5 SECTION 8. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
3-6 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
3-7 Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
3-8 the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
3-9 before the effective date.
3-10 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
3-11 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
3-12 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
3-13 SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
3-14 SECTION 10. The importance of this legislation and the
3-15 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-16 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-17 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-18 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
3-19 * * * * *