Tex. Gov't Code § 21.002 · Chapter 21. GENERAL PROVISIONS
CONTEMPT OF COURT.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (g), a court may punish for contempt.
(b) The punishment for contempt of a court other than a justice court or municipal court is a fine of not more than $500 or confinement in the county jail for not more than six months, or both such a fine and confinement in jail.
(c) The punishment for contempt of a justice court or municipal court is a fine of not more than $100 or confinement in the county or city jail for not more than three days, or both such a fine and confinement in jail.
(d) An officer of a court who is held in contempt by a trial court shall, on proper motion filed in the offended court, be released on his own personal recognizance pending a determination of his guilt or innocence. The presiding judge of the administrative judicial region in which the alleged contempt occurred shall assign a judge who is subject to assignment by the presiding judge other than the judge of the offended court to determine the guilt or innocence of the officer of the court.
(e) Except as provided by Subsection (h), this section does not affect a court's power to confine a contemner to compel the contemner to obey a court order.
(f) Article 42.033, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Chapter 157, Family Code, apply when a person is punished by confinement for contempt of court for disobedience of a court order to make periodic payments for the support of a child. Subsection (h) does not apply to that person.
(g) A court may not punish by contempt an employee or an agency or institution of this state for failure to initiate any program or to perform a statutory duty related to that program:
(1) if the legislature has not specifically and adequately funded the program; or
(2) until a reasonable time has passed to allow implementation of a program specifically and adequately funded by the legislature.
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, a person may not be confined for contempt of court longer than:
(1) 18 months, including three or more periods of confinement for contempt arising out of the same matter that equal a cumulative total of 18 months, if the confinement is for criminal contempt; or
(2) the lesser of 18 months or the period from the date of confinement to the date the person complies with the court order that was the basis of the finding of contempt, if the confinement is for civil contempt.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 480, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 2, Sec. 8.44(1), eff. Aug. 28, 1989; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 560, Sec. 1, eff. June 14, 1989; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 646, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 28, 1989; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 25, Sec. 34, eff. Nov. 1, 1989; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 262, Sec. 87, eff. Jan. 1, 1996; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 7.24, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1297, Sec. 71(4), eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 425 Sec. 1, eff. June 20, 2003.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/GV/htm/GV.21.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 600917b26bb9fda97d969ca00a3d0b968678e2ad23c0cb5f2a346e5ce6b931d7
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Cited by 12 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Gov't Code § 21.002. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Civil Practice and Remedies Code
Code of Criminal Procedure
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 7.03ACCUSED BROUGHT BEFORE MAGISTRATE.Printed as Section 21.002(c), Government Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 7.18CONTEMPT.Printed as Section 21.002(c), Government Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 45A.157FAILURE TO APPEAR FOR JURY TRIAL.Printed as Section 21.002(c), Government Code
Education Code
Family Code
Health and Safety Code
Property Code
- Tex. Prop. Code § 92.009RESIDENTIAL TENANT'S RIGHT OF REENTRY AFTER UNLAWFUL LOCKOUT.Printed as Section 21.002(c), Government Code | Section 21.002, Government Code
- Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0091RESIDENTIAL TENANT'S RIGHT OF RESTORATION AFTER UNLAWFUL UTILITY DISCONNECTION.Printed as Section 21.002(c), Government Code | Section 21.002, Government Code
- Tex. Prop. Code § 93.003COMMERCIAL TENANT'S RIGHT OF REENTRY AFTER UNLAWFUL LOCKOUT.Printed as Section 21.002(c), Government Code | Section 21.002, Government Code
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.