76R7459 GWK-F
By Barrientos, et al. S.B. No. 962
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 962:
By Keel C.S.S.B. No. 962
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the prosecution and punishment of the offense of
1-3 harassment.
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
1-11 writing, or by electronic communication and in the course of the
1-12 communication makes a comment, request, suggestion, or proposal
1-13 that is obscene;
1-14 (2) threatens, by telephone, [or] in writing, or by
1-15 electronic communication, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm
1-16 the person receiving the threat, to inflict bodily injury on the
1-17 person or to commit a felony against the person, a member of his
1-18 family, or his property;
1-19 (3) conveys, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm
1-20 the person receiving the report, a false report, which is known by
1-21 the conveyor to be false, that another person has suffered death or
1-22 serious bodily injury;
1-23 (4) causes the telephone of another to ring repeatedly
1-24 or makes repeated telephone communications anonymously or in a
2-1 manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment,
2-2 embarrass, or offend another;
2-3 (5) makes a telephone call and intentionally fails to
2-4 hang up or disengage the connection; [or]
2-5 (6) knowingly permits a telephone under his control to
2-6 be used by a person to commit an offense under this section; or
2-7 (7) sends repeated electronic communications, either
2-8 signed or anonymously, or sends repeated electronic communications
2-9 in a manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse,
2-10 torment, embarrass, or offend another.
2-11 (b) In this section:
2-12 (1) "Electronic communication" includes a
2-13 communication initiated by electronic mail, network call, or a
2-14 facsimile machine and a communication made to a pager.
2-15 (2) "Family" has the meaning assigned by Section
2-16 71.003, Family Code.
2-17 (3) "Obscene" [For purposes of Subsection (a)(1),
2-18 "obscene"] means containing a patently offensive description of or
2-19 a solicitation to commit an ultimate sex act, including sexual
2-20 intercourse, masturbation, cunnilingus, fellatio, or anilingus, or
2-21 a description of an excretory function. [In this section, "family"
2-22 has the meaning assigned by Section 71.01, Family Code.]
2-23 (c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor
2-24 unless the defendant has previously been convicted under this
2-25 section, in which event the offense is a Class A misdemeanor.
2-26 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
2-27 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
3-1 Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
3-2 the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
3-3 before the effective date.
3-4 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
3-5 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
3-6 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
3-7 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
3-8 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-9 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-10 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-11 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-12 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.