Bill Text: TX SB1798 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Relating to the prosecution of the offense of obstruction or retaliation; providing penalties.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-05-21 - Placed on General State Calendar [SB1798 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-SB1798-Engrossed.html

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By: Watson S.B. No. 1798

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of the offense of obstruction or
retaliation; providing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.06, Penal Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 36.06. OBSTRUCTION OR RETALIATION. (a) A person
commits an offense if the person [he] intentionally or knowingly
harms or threatens to harm another by an unlawful act:
(1) in retaliation for or on account of the service or
status of another as a:
(A) public servant, witness, prospective
witness, or informant; or
(B) person who has reported or who the actor
knows intends to report the occurrence of a crime; or
(2) to prevent or delay the service of another as a:
(A) public servant, witness, prospective
witness, or informant; or
(B) person who has reported or who the actor
knows intends to report the occurrence of a crime.
(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person posts the
residence address or telephone number of an individual the actor
knows is a public servant or a member of a public servant's family
or household on a publicly accessible website with the intent to
cause harm or a threat of harm to the individual or a member of the
individual's family or household in retaliation for or on account
of the service or status of the individual as a public servant.
(b) In this section:
(1) "Honorably retired peace officer" means a peace
officer who:
(A) did not retire in lieu of any disciplinary
action;
(B) was eligible to retire from a law enforcement
agency or was ineligible to retire only as a result of an injury
received in the course of the officer's employment with the agency;
and
(C) is entitled to receive a pension or annuity
for service as a law enforcement officer or is not entitled to
receive a pension or annuity only because the law enforcement
agency that employed the officer does not offer a pension or annuity
to its employees.
(2) "Informant" means a person who has communicated
information to the government in connection with any governmental
function.
(3) "Public servant" has the meaning assigned by
Section 1.07, except that the term also includes an honorably
retired peace officer.
(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
degree, except that the offense is a felony of the second degree if:
(1) [unless] the victim of the offense was harmed or
threatened because of the victim's service or status as a juror; or
(2) the actor's conduct is described by Subsection
(a-1) and results in the bodily injury of a public servant or a
member of a public servant's family or household[, in which event
the offense is a felony of the second degree].
(d) For purposes of Subsection (a-1), it is prima facie
evidence of the intent to cause harm or a threat of harm to an
individual the person knows is a public servant or a member of a
public servant's family or household if the actor:
(1) receives a written demand from the individual to
not disclose the address or telephone number for reasons of safety;
and
(2) either:
(A) fails to remove the address or telephone
number from the publicly accessible website within a period of 48
hours after receiving the demand; or
(B) reposts the address or telephone number on
the same or a different publicly accessible website, or makes the
information publicly available through another medium, within a
period of four years after receiving the demand, regardless of
whether the individual is no longer a public servant.
SECTION 2. 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.