79R7151 PEP-D

By:  Brown of Kaufman                                             H.B. No. 1629



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to creating an offense for certain conduct involving the 
discharge of fireworks.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 42.07, Penal Code, is amended to read as 
follows:        
	Sec. 42.07.  HARASSMENT.  (a)  A person commits an offense 
if, with intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or 
embarrass another, the person [he]:
		(1)  initiates communication by telephone, in writing, 
or by electronic communication and in the course of the 
communication makes a comment, request, suggestion, or proposal 
that is obscene;
		(2)  threatens, by telephone, in writing, or by 
electronic communication, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm 
the person receiving the threat, to inflict bodily injury on the 
person or to commit a felony against the person, a member of his 
family or household, or his property;
		(3)  conveys, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm 
the person receiving the report, a false report, which is known by 
the conveyor to be false, that another person has suffered death or 
serious bodily injury;
		(4)  causes the telephone of another to ring repeatedly 
or makes repeated telephone communications anonymously or in a 
manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, 
embarrass, or offend another;
		(5)  makes a telephone call and intentionally fails to 
hang up or disengage the connection;
		(6)  knowingly permits a telephone under the person's 
control to be used by another to commit an offense under this 
section; [or]
		(7)  sends repeated electronic communications in a 
manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, 
embarrass, or offend another; or
		(8)  on more than one occasion, in a manner reasonably 
likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, embarrass, or 
offend another, discharges fireworks, as defined by Section 
2154.001, Occupations Code:
			(A)  within 30 feet of a residential dwelling; or                     
			(B)  by projecting the fireworks directly at or 
toward a residential dwelling.
	(b)  In this section:                                                          
		(1)  "Electronic communication" means a transfer of 
signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of 
any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, 
electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system.  The 
term includes:
			(A)  a communication initiated by electronic 
mail, instant message, network call, or facsimile machine; and
			(B)  a communication made to a pager.                                        
		(2)  "Family" and "household" have the meaning assigned 
by Chapter 71, Family Code.
		(3)  "Obscene" means containing a patently offensive 
description of or a solicitation to commit an ultimate sex act, 
including sexual intercourse, masturbation, cunnilingus, fellatio, 
or anilingus, or a description of an excretory function.
		(4)  "Residential dwelling" includes a single-family 
home, a duplex, triplex, apartment, or other form of multifamily 
housing, a motel or hotel, and a mobile home.
	(c)  An offense under Subsection (a)(1) through Subsection 
(a)(7) [this section] is a Class B misdemeanor, except that the 
offense is a Class A misdemeanor if the actor has previously been 
convicted under this section.  An offense under Subsection (a)(8) 
is a Class C misdemeanor.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.