By Garcia H.B. No. 2517
77R7177 KEL-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the prosecution of the offense of failure to identify.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 38.02, Penal Code, is amended to read as
1-5 follows:
1-6 Sec. 38.02. FAILURE TO IDENTIFY. (a) A person commits an
1-7 offense if he intentionally refuses to give his name, residence
1-8 address, or date of birth to a peace officer who has lawfully
1-9 arrested the person and requested the information.
1-10 (b) A person commits an offense if he intentionally gives a
1-11 false or fictitious name, residence address, or date of birth to a
1-12 peace officer who has:
1-13 (1) lawfully arrested the person;
1-14 (2) lawfully detained the person; or
1-15 (3) requested the information from a person that the
1-16 peace officer has good cause to believe is a witness to a criminal
1-17 offense, other than a person suspected by the officer as being a
1-18 party to that offense.
1-19 (c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), an offense under
1-20 this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
1-21 (d) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
1-22 section that the defendant was a fugitive from justice at the time
1-23 of the offense, the offense is a Class B misdemeanor.
1-24 (e) For purposes of Subsection (b)(2), an oral statement is
2-1 a sufficient means of providing identifying information to a peace
2-2 officer. The officer has the burden to establish the actor's
2-3 intentional deception with respect to that information.
2-4 (f) A peace officer investigating conduct that may
2-5 constitute an offense under Subsection (b)(2) may not arrest the
2-6 person for that offense unless the officer concurrently arrests the
2-7 person for a separate offense.
2-8 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
2-9 applies only to an offense committed on or after that date. An
2-10 offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered
2-11 by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former
2-12 law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
2-13 section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this
2-14 Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.