Bill Text: TX HB1427 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to the prosecution of the offense of harassment.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-2)
Status: (Passed) 2023-06-18 - Effective on 9/1/23 [HB1427 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB1427-Enrolled.html
| H.B. No. 1427 | ||
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| relating to the prosecution of the offense of harassment. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 42.07(a), Penal Code, is amended to read | ||
| as follows: | ||
| (a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to harass, | ||
| annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass another, the person: | ||
| (1) initiates communication and in the course of the | ||
| communication makes a comment, request, suggestion, or proposal | ||
| that is obscene; | ||
| (2) threatens, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm | ||
| the person receiving the threat, to inflict bodily injury on the | ||
| person or to commit a felony against the person, a member of the | ||
| person's family or household, or the person's property; | ||
| (3) conveys, in a manner reasonably likely to alarm | ||
| the person receiving the report, a false report, which is known by | ||
| the conveyor to be false, that another person has suffered death or | ||
| serious bodily injury; | ||
| (4) causes the telephone of another to ring repeatedly | ||
| or makes repeated telephone communications anonymously or in a | ||
| manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, | ||
| embarrass, or offend another; | ||
| (5) makes a telephone call and intentionally fails to | ||
| hang up or disengage the connection; | ||
| (6) knowingly permits a telephone under the person's | ||
| control to be used by another to commit an offense under this | ||
| section; | ||
| (7) sends repeated electronic communications in a | ||
| manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, | ||
| embarrass, or offend another; [ |
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| (8) publishes on an Internet website, including a | ||
| social media platform, repeated electronic communications in a | ||
| manner reasonably likely to cause emotional distress, abuse, or | ||
| torment to another person, unless the communications are made in | ||
| connection with a matter of public concern; or | ||
| (9) makes obscene, intimidating, or threatening | ||
| telephone calls or other electronic communications from a temporary | ||
| or disposable telephone number provided by an Internet application | ||
| or other technological means. | ||
| 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, 2023. | ||
| ______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
| President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
| I certify that H.B. No. 1427 was passed by the House on May 2, | ||
| 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 5, 3 present, not | ||
| voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
| I certify that H.B. No. 1427 was passed by the Senate on May | ||
| 18, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| APPROVED: _____________________ | ||
| Date | ||
| _____________________ | ||
| Governor | ||
