Bill Text: TX HB603 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to civil and criminal liability for the unlawful disclosure or promotion of certain intimate visual material; creating an offense.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 5-2)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2015-05-30 - Senate appoints conferees-reported [HB603 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HB603-Comm_Sub.html
| By: Davis of Harris, et al. | H.B. No. 603 | |
| COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 603By: Whitmire | By: Whitmire | |
| (In the Senate - Received from the House May 18, 2015; | ||
| May 19, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal | ||
| Justice; May 24, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable | ||
| Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; | ||
| May 24, 2015, sent to printer.) | ||
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| relating to the creation of the offense of unlawful disclosure or | ||
| promotion of intimate visual material. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Chapter 21, Penal Code, is amended by adding | ||
| Section 21.16 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 21.16. UNLAWFUL DISCLOSURE OR PROMOTION OF INTIMATE | ||
| VISUAL MATERIAL. (a) In this section: | ||
| (1) "Intimate parts" means the naked genitals, pubic | ||
| area, anus, buttocks, or female nipple of a person. | ||
| (2) "Promote" means to procure, manufacture, issue, | ||
| sell, give, provide, lend, mail, deliver, transfer, transmit, | ||
| publish, distribute, circulate, disseminate, present, exhibit, or | ||
| advertise or to offer or agree to do any of the above. | ||
| (3) "Sexual conduct" means sexual contact, actual or | ||
| simulated sexual intercourse, deviate sexual intercourse, sexual | ||
| bestiality, masturbation, or sadomasochistic abuse. | ||
| (4) "Simulated" means the explicit depiction of sexual | ||
| conduct that creates the appearance of actual sexual conduct and | ||
| during which a person engaging in the conduct exhibits any | ||
| uncovered portion of the breasts, genitals, or buttocks. | ||
| (5) "Visual material" means: | ||
| (A) any film, photograph, videotape, negative, | ||
| or slide or any photographic reproduction that contains or | ||
| incorporates in any manner any film, photograph, videotape, | ||
| negative, or slide; or | ||
| (B) any disk, diskette, or other physical medium | ||
| that allows an image to be displayed on a computer or other video | ||
| screen and any image transmitted to a computer or other video screen | ||
| by telephone line, cable, satellite transmission, or other method. | ||
| (b) A person commits an offense if: | ||
| (1) without the effective consent of the depicted | ||
| person, the person intentionally discloses visual material | ||
| depicting another person with the person's intimate parts exposed | ||
| or engaged in sexual conduct; | ||
| (2) the visual material was obtained by the person or | ||
| created under circumstances in which the depicted person had a | ||
| reasonable expectation that the visual material would remain | ||
| private; | ||
| (3) the disclosure of the visual material causes harm | ||
| to the depicted person; and | ||
| (4) the disclosure of the visual material reveals the | ||
| identity of the depicted person in any manner, including through: | ||
| (A) any accompanying or subsequent information | ||
| or material related to the visual material; or | ||
| (B) information or material provided by a third | ||
| party in response to the disclosure of the visual material. | ||
| (c) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally | ||
| threatens to disclose, without the consent of the depicted person, | ||
| visual material depicting another person with the person's intimate | ||
| parts exposed or engaged in sexual conduct and the actor makes the | ||
| threat to obtain a benefit: | ||
| (1) in return for not making the disclosure; or | ||
| (2) in connection with the threatened disclosure. | ||
| (d) A person commits an offense if, knowing the character | ||
| and content of the visual material, the person promotes visual | ||
| material described by Subsection (b) on an Internet website or | ||
| other forum for publication that is owned or operated by the person. | ||
| (e) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section | ||
| that the depicted person: | ||
| (1) created or consented to the creation of the visual | ||
| material; or | ||
| (2) voluntarily transmitted the visual material to the | ||
| actor. | ||
| (f) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under | ||
| Subsection (b) or (d) that: | ||
| (1) the disclosure or promotion is made in the course | ||
| of: | ||
| (A) lawful and common practices of law | ||
| enforcement or medical treatment; | ||
| (B) reporting unlawful activity; or | ||
| (C) a legal proceeding, if the disclosure or | ||
| promotion is permitted or required by law; | ||
| (2) the disclosure or promotion consists of visual | ||
| material depicting in a public or commercial setting only a | ||
| person's voluntary exposure of: | ||
| (A) the person's intimate parts; or | ||
| (B) the person engaging in sexual conduct; or | ||
| (3) the actor is an interactive computer service, as | ||
| defined by 47 U.S.C. Section 230, and the disclosure or promotion | ||
| consists of visual material provided by another person. | ||
| (g) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor. | ||
| (h) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this | ||
| section also constitutes an offense under another law, the actor | ||
| may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both. | ||
| SECTION 2. Section 21.16, Penal Code, as added by this Act, | ||
| applies to visual material disclosed or promoted, or threatened to | ||
| be disclosed, on or after the effective date of this Act, regardless | ||
| of whether the visual material was created or transmitted to the | ||
| actor before, on, or after that date. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. | ||
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