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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 disorderly conduct |
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involving unreasonable noise. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 42.01, Penal Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (f) and (g) |
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to read as follows: |
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(a) A person commits an offense if the person [he] |
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intentionally or knowingly: |
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(1) uses abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar |
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language in a public place, and the language by its very utterance |
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tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace; |
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(2) makes an offensive gesture or display in a public |
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place, and the gesture or display tends to incite an immediate |
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breach of the peace; |
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(3) creates, by chemical means, a noxious and |
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unreasonable odor in a public place; |
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(4) abuses or threatens another [a person] in a public |
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place in an obviously offensive manner; |
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(5) makes unreasonable noise in a public place [other
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than a sport shooting range, as defined by Section 250.001, Local
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Government Code,] or in or near a private residence that the actor |
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[he] has no right to occupy; |
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(6) fights with another in a public place; |
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(7) discharges a firearm in a public place other than a |
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public road or a sport shooting range, as defined by Section |
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250.001, Local Government Code; |
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(8) displays a firearm or other deadly weapon in a |
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public place in a manner calculated to alarm; |
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(9) discharges a firearm on or across a public road; |
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(10) exposes the actor's [his] anus or genitals in a |
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public place and is reckless about whether another may be present |
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who will be offended or alarmed by the actor's conduct [his act]; or |
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(11) for a lewd or unlawful purpose: |
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(A) enters on the property of another and looks |
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into a dwelling on the property through any window or other opening |
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in the dwelling; |
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(B) while on the premises of a hotel or |
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comparable establishment, looks into a guest room not the actor's |
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[person's] own through a window or other opening in the room; or |
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(C) while on the premises of a public place, |
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looks into an area such as a restroom or shower stall or changing or |
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dressing room that is designed to provide privacy to a person using |
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the area. |
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(c) For purposes of this section: |
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(1) an act is deemed to occur in a public place or near |
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a private residence if it produces its offensive or proscribed |
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consequences in the public place or near a private residence; and |
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(2) a noise is presumed to be unreasonable if the noise |
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exceeds a decibel level of 85, if during the daytime, or 70, if |
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during the nighttime, after the actor [person] making the noise |
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receives notice from a magistrate or peace officer that the noise is |
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a public nuisance. |
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(f) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(5) |
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that the noise made by the actor relates to: |
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(1) the ordinary and necessary operations or |
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activities of: |
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(A) an airport; |
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(B) an agricultural operation, as defined by |
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Section 251.002, Agriculture Code; |
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(C) a business regulated by: |
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(i) the Railroad Commission of Texas; |
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(ii) the Public Utility Commission of |
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Texas; |
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(iii) the Texas Commission on Environmental |
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Quality; |
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(iv) the General Land Office; or |
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(v) the Federal Energy Regulatory |
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Commission; |
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(D) a sport shooting range, as defined by Section |
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250.001, Local Government Code; or |
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(E) a site at which building construction or road |
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maintenance is being performed under a contract with the state; or |
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(2) an activity that occurs and is allowed in a |
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municipal area in which: |
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(A) commercial or entertainment purposes are |
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permitted by zoning ordinance; and |
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(B) the level of noise made by the actor is |
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permitted by the governing body of the municipality. |
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(g) For purposes of this section: |
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(1) "Daytime" means the period beginning at 5 a.m. on |
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any day and ending immediately before midnight on the same day. |
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(2) "Nighttime" means the period beginning at midnight |
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on any day and ending immediately before 5 a.m. on the following |
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day. |
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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. |