Relating to the prosecution of certain criminal offenses involving the unlawful disclosure of a residence address or telephone number, the official text

H.B. No. 3425

AN ACT

relating to the prosecution of certain criminal offenses involving

the unlawful disclosure of a residence address or telephone number.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Sections 36.06(a-1) and (d), Penal Code, are

amended to read as follows:

(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person posts on a

publicly accessible website or discloses through an electronic

communication 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.

(d) For purposes of an offense under Subsection (a-1)

involving the posting of a residence address or telephone number on

a publicly accessible website, 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 2. Section 36.06(b), Penal Code, is amended by

amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as

follows:

(1) "Electronic communication" has the meaning

assigned by Section 42.07.

(1-a) "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.

SECTION 3. Section 42.074, Penal Code, is amended by

amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (e) to

read as follows:

(a) A person commits an offense if the person posts on a

publicly accessible website or discloses through an electronic

communication the residence address or telephone number of an

individual with the intent to cause harm or a threat of harm to the

individual or a member of the individual's family or household.

(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor,

except that the offense is a Class A misdemeanor if the offense

results in the bodily injury of:

(1) the individual whose residence address or

telephone number was posted on a publicly accessible website or

disclosed through an electronic communication; or

(2) a member of the individual's family or household.

(c) This section does not apply to a public servant who

posted information described by Subsection (a) to a publicly

accessible website or disclosed that information through an

electronic communication in the performance of the public servant's

duties as required by or in accordance with state or federal law.

(e) In this section, "electronic communication" has the

meaning assigned by Section 42.07.

SECTION 4. 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. 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 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

______________________________
______________________________

President of the Senate
Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 3425 was passed by the House on May

15, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 4, 2 present, not

voting.

______________________________

Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 3425 was passed by the Senate on May

27, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________

Secretary of the Senate

APPROVED: _____________________

Date

_____________________

Governor