Texas Penal Code

§ 42.07 — HARASSMENT

PE § 42.07Title 9. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER AND DECENCY · Ch. 42. DISORDERLY CONDUCT AND RELATED OFFENSES

Statute text

(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;

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Legislative history

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1278 (H.B. 1606), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2013. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 522 (S.B. 179), Sec. 13, eff. September 1, 2017. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 522 (S.B. 179), Sec. 14, eff. September 1, 2017. Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 178 (S.B. 530), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2021. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 839 (H.B. 2715), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2023. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1118 (H.B. 1427), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2023. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 204 (H.B. 1620), Sec. 17.003, eff. September 1, 2025. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 478 (S.B. 482), Sec. 5, eff. September 1, 2025. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 478 (S.B. 482), Sec. 6, eff. September 1, 2025. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., 2nd C.S., Ch. 7 (H.B. 16), Sec. 15.12, eff. December 4, 2025. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., 2nd C.S., Ch. 7 (H.B. 16), Sec. 15.13, eff. December 4, 2025.