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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the prosecution of the offense of online harassment. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 33.07(a), Penal Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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(a) A person commits an offense if the person, without |
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obtaining the other person's consent and with the intent to harm, |
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defraud, intimidate, or threaten any person, uses the name or |
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persona of another person to: |
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(1) create a web page on a commercial social |
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networking site or other Internet website; or |
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(2) [to] post or send one or more messages on or |
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through a commercial social networking site or other Internet |
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website, other than on or through an electronic mail program or |
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message board program functioning as part of that website [:
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[(1) without obtaining the other person's consent; and
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[(2)
with the intent to harm, defraud, intimidate, or
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threaten any person]. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |