By: Castro, Gallego (Senate Sponsor - Watson) H.B. No. 1666

(In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2011; April 28, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice; May 12, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 12, 2011, sent to printer.)

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the prosecution of the offense of online impersonation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. The heading to Section 33.07, Penal Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 33.07. ONLINE IMPERSONATION [HARASSMENT].

SECTION 2. Section 33.07(a), Penal Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) A person commits an offense if the person, without obtaining the other person's consent and with the intent to harm, defraud, intimidate, or threaten any person, uses the name or persona of another person to:

(1) create a web page on a commercial social networking site or other Internet website; or

(2) [to] post or send one or more messages on or through a commercial social networking site or other Internet website, other than on or through an electronic mail program or message board program [:

[(1) without obtaining the other person's consent; and

[(2) with the intent to harm, defraud, intimidate, or threaten any person].

SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.

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