Tex. Penal Code § 22.11 · Chapter 22. ASSAULTIVE OFFENSES
HARASSMENT BY PERSONS IN CERTAIN FACILITIES; HARASSMENT OF PUBLIC SERVANT.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to assault, harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass the person:
(1) while imprisoned or confined in a correctional or detention facility, causes another person to contact the blood, seminal fluid, vaginal fluid, saliva, urine, or feces of the actor, any other person, or an animal, or any other fluid or liquid;
(2) while committed to a civil commitment facility, causes:
(A) an officer or employee of the Texas Civil Commitment Office to contact the blood, seminal fluid, vaginal fluid, saliva, urine, or feces of the actor, any other person, or an animal, or any other fluid or liquid:
(i) while the officer or employee is lawfully discharging an official duty at a civil commitment facility; or
(ii) in retaliation for or on account of an exercise of official power or performance of an official duty by the officer or employee; or
(B) a person who contracts with the state to perform a service in the facility or an employee of that person to contact the blood, seminal fluid, vaginal fluid, saliva, urine, or feces of the actor, any other person, or an animal, or any other fluid or liquid:
(i) while the person or employee is engaged in performing a service within the scope of the contract, if the actor knows the person or employee is authorized by the state to provide the service; or
(ii) in retaliation for or on account of the person's or employee's performance of a service within the scope of the contract; or
(3) causes another person the actor knows to be a public servant to contact the blood, seminal fluid, vaginal fluid, saliva, urine, or feces of the actor, any other person, or an animal, or any other fluid or liquid, while the public servant is lawfully discharging an official duty or in retaliation or on account of an exercise of the public servant's official power or performance of an official duty.
(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree.
(c) If conduct constituting an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the actor may be prosecuted under either section.
(d) In this section, "correctional or detention facility" means:
(1) a secure correctional facility; or
(2) a "secure correctional facility" or a "secure detention facility" as defined by Section 51.02, Family Code, operated by or under contract with a juvenile board or the Texas Juvenile Justice Department or any other facility operated by or under contract with that department.
(e) For purposes of Subsection (a)(3), the actor is presumed to have known the person was a public servant if the person was wearing a distinctive uniform or badge indicating the person's employment as a public servant.
(f) For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), the actor is presumed to have known the person was an officer or employee of the Texas Civil Commitment Office or a person who contracts with the state to perform a service in a civil commitment facility or an employee of that person, as applicable, if the person was wearing a distinctive uniform or badge indicating the person's status as an officer or employee of the Texas Civil Commitment Office or a contractor or employee of a contractor performing a service in a civil commitment facility.
(g) It is not a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a) that the actor warned any person that the actor intended to violate Subsection (a).
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 335, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 878, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1006, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 543 (H.B. 1095), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 734 (H.B. 1549), Sec. 142, eff. September 1, 2015.
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 34 (S.B. 1576), Sec. 28, eff. September 1, 2017.
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 34 (S.B. 1576), Sec. 29, eff. September 1, 2017.
Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1145 (S.B. 1610), Sec. 6, eff. September 1, 2025.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.22.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 076ea1ac9bd5790e5291ea07b2a7d6a7a1c6e28895ed34d2ee252e262b59709a
- 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
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