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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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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 (a-1) and adding Subsections (a-2) and |
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(b-1) 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 a person in a public place in |
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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 person |
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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 person'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 person's [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 person's |
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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; or |
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(12) detonates a binary explosive within two miles of |
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a private residence during the period between sunset and sunrise. |
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(a-1) For purposes of this section [Subsection (a)], the |
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term "public place" includes a public school campus or the school |
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grounds on which a public school is located. |
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(a-2) For purposes of this section, "binary explosive" |
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means a product consisting of two chemical components or compounds |
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that separately are not explosive but combine to create an |
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explosive, as defined by Section 541.401, Transportation Code. |
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(b-1) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection |
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(a)(12) that the actor detonated a binary explosive as permitted or |
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otherwise authorized by the federal government or by the state or a |
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political subdivision of the state. |
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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 when the offense was committed, and |
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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, 2017. |