Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of assault committed against certain public servants and to the prosecution of the criminal offense of interference with public duties of those public servants.
relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of
assault committed against certain public servants and to the
prosecution of the criminal offense of interference with public
duties of those public servants.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 22.01(c) and (d), Penal Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(c) An offense under Subsection (a)(2) or (3) is a Class C
misdemeanor, except that the offense is:
(1) a Class A misdemeanor if the offense is committed
under Subsection (a)(3) against an elderly individual or disabled
individual, as those terms are defined by Section 22.04;
(2) a Class B misdemeanor if the offense is committed
by a person who is not a sports participant against a person the
actor knows is a sports participant either:
(A) while the participant is performing duties or
responsibilities in the participant’s capacity as a sports
participant; or
(B) in retaliation for or on account of the
participant’s performance of a duty or responsibility within the
participant’s capacity as a sports participant;
(3) a Class B misdemeanor if the offense is committed
against a person the actor knows is:
(A) a peace officer, a community supervision and
corrections department officer, or a parole officer while the
officer is performing a duty or exercising authority imposed or
granted by law; or
(B) emergency services personnel while the
person is providing emergency services; or
(4) [(3)] a Class A misdemeanor if the offense is
committed against a pregnant individual to force the individual to
have an abortion.
(d) For purposes of Subsections [Subsection] (b) and (c),
the actor is presumed to have known the person assaulted was a
public servant, including a public servant described by Subsection
(c)(3)(A), a security officer, or emergency services personnel if
the person was wearing a distinctive uniform or badge indicating
the person’s employment as a public servant or status as a security
officer or emergency services personnel.
SECTION 2. Sections 38.15(a) and (d-1), Penal Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person with criminal
negligence interrupts, disrupts, impedes, or otherwise interferes
with:
(1) a peace officer, a community supervision and
corrections department officer, or a parole officer while the
[peace] officer is performing a duty or exercising authority
imposed or granted by law;
(2) a person who is employed to provide emergency
medical services including the transportation of ill or injured
persons while the person is performing that duty;
(3) a fire fighter, while the fire fighter is fighting
a fire or investigating the cause of a fire;
(4) an animal under the supervision of a peace
officer, corrections officer, or jailer, if the person knows the
animal is being used for law enforcement, corrections, prison or
jail security, or investigative purposes;
(5) the transmission of a communication over a
citizen’s band radio channel, the purpose of which communication is
to inform or inquire about an emergency;
(6) an officer with responsibility for animal control
in a county or municipality, while the officer is performing a duty
or exercising authority imposed or granted under Chapter 821 or
822, Health and Safety Code; or
(7) a person who:
(A) has responsibility for assessing, enacting,
or enforcing public health, environmental, radiation, or safety
measures for the state or a county or municipality;
(B) is investigating a particular site as part of
the person’s responsibilities under Paragraph (A);
(C) is acting in accordance with policies and
procedures related to the safety and security of the site described
by Paragraph (B); and
(D) is performing a duty or exercising authority
imposed or granted under the Agriculture Code, Health and Safety
Code, Occupations Code, or Water Code.
(d-1) Except as provided by Subsection (d-2), in a
prosecution for an offense under Subsection (a)(1), there is a
rebuttable presumption that the actor interferes with a peace
officer, community supervision and corrections department officer,
or parole officer if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
actor intentionally disseminated the home address, home telephone
number, emergency contact information, or social security number of
the officer or a family member of the officer or any other
information that is specifically described by Section 552.117(a),
Government Code.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply 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.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
