1-1 By: Barrientos S.B. No. 962
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 5, 1999; March 9, 1999, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
1-4 April 26, 1999, reported favorably, as amended, by the following
1-5 vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; April 26, 1999, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 By: Jackson
1-7 Amend S.B. No. 962 as follows:
1-8 (1) On page 1, line 15, delete the word "stalking" and
1-9 insert in its place "harassment"
1-10 (2) On page 1, line 43, between the words "(7)" and "sends"
1-11 insert the word "knowingly"
1-12 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-13 AN ACT
1-14 relating to the elements of and punishment for the offense of
1-15 stalking.
1-16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-17 SECTION 1. Section 42.07, Penal Code, is amended to read as
1-18 follows:
1-19 Sec. 42.07. Harassment. (a) A person commits an offense
1-20 if, with intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or
1-21 embarrass another, he:
1-22 (1) initiates communication by telephone, [or] in
1-23 writing, or by electronic communications and in the course of the
1-24 communication makes a comment, request, suggestion, or proposal
1-25 that is obscene;
1-26 (2) threatens, by telephone, [or] in writing, or by
1-27 electronic communications, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm
1-28 the person receiving the threat, to inflict bodily injury on the
1-29 person or to commit a felony against the person, a member of his
1-30 family, or his property;
1-31 (3) conveys, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm
1-32 the person receiving the report, a false report, which is known by
1-33 the conveyor to be false, that another person has suffered death or
1-34 serious bodily injury;
1-35 (4) causes the telephone of another to ring repeatedly
1-36 or makes repeated telephone communications anonymously or in a
1-37 manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment,
1-38 embarrass, or offend another;
1-39 (5) makes a telephone call and intentionally fails to
1-40 hang up or disengage the connection; [or]
1-41 (6) knowingly permits a telephone under his control to
1-42 be used by a person to commit an offense under this section; or
1-43 (7) sends repeated electronic communications, either
1-44 signed or anonymously or in a manner reasonably likely to harass,
1-45 annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, embarrass, or offend another.
1-46 (b) For purposes of Subsection (a)(1), "obscene" means
1-47 containing a patently offensive description of or a solicitation to
1-48 commit an ultimate sex act, including sexual intercourse,
1-49 masturbation, cunnilingus, fellatio, or anilingus, or a description
1-50 of an excretory function. In this section, "family" has the
1-51 meaning assigned by Section 71.01, Family Code. In this section
1-52 electronic communications includes but is not limited to e-mail
1-53 (electronic mail), pings (network calls), faxes, or pager messages.
1-54 (c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor,
1-55 except that the offense is a Class A misdemeanor if the actor has
1-56 previously been convicted under this section.
1-57 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
1-58 only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
1-59 Act. For purposes of this section, an offense occurs before that
1-60 date.
1-61 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
1-62 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
1-63 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
2-1 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-2 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
2-3 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
2-7 * * * * *