S.B. No. 923

	AN ACT
	relating to the prosecution of the offense of obstruction or
	retaliation; creating a criminal offense.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Article 38.49(e), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(e)  A conviction for an offense under Section 36.05 or
	36.06(a) [36.06], Penal Code, creates a presumption of forfeiture
	by wrongdoing under this article.
	SECTION 2.  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 on a
	publicly accessible website 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 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 3.  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 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 923 passed the Senate on
	May 6, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 923 passed the House on
	May 26, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 142, Nays 3,
	two present not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	Approved:
	______________________________
	Date
	______________________________
	Governor