(a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to establish, maintain, or participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination or as a member of a criminal street gang, he commits or conspires to commit one or more of the following:
(1) murder, capital murder, arson, aggravated robbery, robbery, burglary, theft, aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, forgery, deadly conduct, assault punishable as a Class A misdemeanor, burglary of a motor vehicle, or unauthorized use of a motor vehicle;
(2) any gambling offense punishable as a Class A misdemeanor;
(3) promotion of prostitution, aggravated promotion of prostitution, or compelling prostitution;
(4) unlawful manufacture, transportation, repair, or sale of firearms or prohibited weapons;
(5) unlawful manufacture, delivery, dispensation, or distribution of a controlled substance or dangerous drug, or unlawful possession of a controlled substance or dangerous drug through forgery, fraud, misrepresentation, or deception;
(6) any unlawful wholesale promotion or possession of any obscene material or obscene device with the intent to wholesale promote the same;
(7) any offense under Subchapter B, Chapter 43, depicting or involving conduct by or directed toward a child younger than 18 years of age;
(8) any felony offense under Chapter 32;
(9) any offense under Chapter 36;
(10) any offense under Chapter 34;
(11) any offense under Section 37.11(a); or
(12) any offense under Chapter 20A.
NOTICE: FIRST OF TWO VERSIONS OF SUBSECTION (b)
As added by Acts 1993, Ch. 761, § 3.
(b) Except as provided in Subsection (c) of this section, an offense under this section is one category higher than the most serious offense listed in Subdivisions (1) through (10) of Subsection (a) of this section that was committed, and if the most serious offense is a Class A misdemeanor, the offense is a felony of the third degree, except that if the most serious offense is a felony of the first degree, the offense is a felony of the first degree.
NOTICE: SECOND OF TWO VERSIONS OF SUBSECTION (b)
As added by Acts 1993, Ch. 900, § 1.01.
(b) Except as provided in Subsections (c) and (d), an offense under this section is one category higher than the most serious offense listed in Subsection (a) that was committed, and if the most serious offense is a Class A misdemeanor, the offense is a state jail felony, except that if the most serious offense is a felony of the first degree, the offense is a felony of the first degree.
NOTICE: FIRST OF TWO VERSIONS OF SUBSECTION (c)
As added by Acts 1993, Ch. 761, § 3.
(c) Conspiring to commit an offense under this section is of the
same degree as the most serious offense listed in Subdivisions (1) through (10)
of Subsection (a) of this section that the person conspired to commit.
NOTICE: SECOND OF TWO VERSIONS OF SUBSECTION (c)
As added by Acts 1993, Ch. 900, § 1.01.
(c) Conspiring to commit an offense under this section is of the same degree as the most serious offense listed in Subsection (a) that the person conspired to commit.
(d) At the punishment stage of a trial, the defendant may raise the issue as to whether in voluntary and complete renunciation of the offense he withdrew from the combination before commission of an offense listed in Subsection (a) and made substantial effort to prevent the commission of the offense. If the defendant proves the issue in the affirmative by a preponderance of the evidence the offense is the same category of offense as the most serious offense listed in Subsection (a) that is committed, unless the defendant is convicted of conspiring to commit the offense, in which event the offense is one category lower than the most serious offense that the defendant conspired to commit.
(Top)(a) Subject to Subsection (b), a criminal justice agency may compile criminal information into an intelligence database for the purpose of investigating or prosecuting the criminal activities of criminal combinations or criminal street gangs. The information may be compiled on paper, by computer, or in any other useful manner.
(b) A law enforcement agency may compile and maintain criminal information relating to a criminal street gang as provided by Subsection (a) in a local or regional intelligence database only if the agency compiles and maintains the information in accordance with the criminal intelligence systems operating policies established under 28 C.F.R. Section 23.1 et seq. and the submission criteria established under Subsection (c).
(c) Criminal information collected under this chapter relating to a criminal street gang must:
(1) be relevant to the identification of an organization that is reasonably suspected of involvement in criminal activity; and
(2) consist of any two of the following:
(A) a self-admission by the individual of criminal street gang membership;
(B) an identification of the individual as a criminal street gang member by a reliable informant or other individual;
(C) a corroborated identification of the individual as a criminal street gang member by an informant or other individual of unknown reliability;
(D) evidence that the individual frequents a documented area of a criminal street gang, associates with known criminal street gang members, and uses criminal street gang dress, hand signals, tattoos, or symbols; or
(E) evidence that the individual has been arrested or taken into custody with known criminal street gang members for an offense or conduct consistent with criminal street gang activity.
(c) If a local law enforcement agency compiles and maintains information under this chapter relating to a criminal street gang, the agency shall send the information to the department.
(d) If a local law enforcement agency collects criminal information under this chapter relating to a criminal street gang, the governing body of the county or municipality served by the law enforcement agency may adopt a policy to notify the parent or guardian of a child of the agency’s observations relating to the child’s association with a criminal street gang.
(b) Subject to Subsection (c), information collected under this chapter relating to a criminal street gang must be removed from an intelligence database established under Article 61.02 and the intelligence database maintained by the department under Article 61.03 after three years if:
(1) the information relates to the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity engaged in by an individual other than a child; and
(2) the individual who is the subject of the information has not been arrested for criminal activity reported to the department under Chapter 60.
(c) In determining whether information is required to be removed from an intelligence database under Subsection (b), the three-year period does not include any period during which the individual who is the subject of the information is confined in the institutional division or the state jail division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
(a) This article does not apply to information collected under this chapter by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or the Texas Youth Commission.
(b) Subject to Subsection (c), information collected under this chapter relating to a criminal street gang must be removed from an intelligence database established under Article 61.02 and the intelligence database maintained by the department under Article 61.03 after two years if:
(1) the information relates to the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity engaged in by a child; and
(2) the child who is the subject of the information has not been:
(A) arrested for criminal activity reported to the department under Chapter 60; or
(B) taken into custody for delinquent conduct reported to the department under Chapter 58, Family Code.
(c) In determining whether information is required to be removed from an intelligence database under Subsection (b), the two-year period does not include any period during which the child who is the subject of the information is:
(1) committed to the Texas Youth Commission for conduct that violates a penal law of the grade of felony; or
(2) confined in the institutional division or the state jail division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
(Top)(a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to establish, maintain, or participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination or as a member of a criminal street gang, he commits or conspires to commit one or more of the following:
(1) murder, capital murder, arson, aggravated robbery, robbery, burglary, theft, aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, or forgery;
(2) any felony gambling offense;
(3) promotion of prostitution, aggravated promotion of prostitution, or compelling prostitution;
(4) unlawful manufacture, transportation, repair, or sale of firearms or prohibited weapons;
(5) unlawful manufacture, delivery, dispensation or distribution of a controlled substance or dangerous drug, or unlawful possession of a controlled substance or dangerous drug through forgery, fraud, misrepresentation, or deception;
(6) any unlawful wholesale promotion or possession of any obscene material or obscene device with the intent to wholesale promote the same;
(7) any unlawful employment, authorization, or inducing of a child younger than 17 years of age in an obscene sexual performance;
(8) any felony offense under Chapter 32, Penal Code; or
(9) any offense under Chapter 36, Penal Code.
(b) Except as provided in Subsection c of this section, an offender under this section is one category higher than the most serious offense listed in Subdivision (1) through (9) of Subsection (a) of this section that was committed, and if the most serious offense is a Class A misdemeanor, the felony is an offense of the third degree, except that if the most serious offense is a felony of the first degree, the offense is a felony of the first degree.
(c) Conspiring to commit and offense under this section is of the same degree as the most serious offense listed in Subdivisions (1) through (9) of Subsection (a) of this section that the person conspired to commit.
(Top)(a) In this section:
(1) "Child" means an individual younger than 17 years of age.
(2) "Criminal street gang" has the meaning assigned by Section 71.01.
(b) A person commits an offense if, with intent to coerce, induce, or solicit a child to actively participate in the activities of a criminal street gang, the person:
(1) threatens the child with imminent bodily injury; or
(2) causes bodily injury to the child.
(c) An offense under Subsection (b)(1) is a state jail felony. An offense under Subsection (b)(2) is a felony of the third degree.
(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly causes, enables, encourages, recruits, or solicits another person to become a member of a criminal street gang which, as a condition of initiation, admission, membership, or continued membership, requires the commission of any conduct which constitutes an offense punishable as a Class A misdemeanor or a felony.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), an offense under this section is a felony of the third degree.
(c) A second or subsequent offense under this section is a felony of the second degree.
(Top)(a) The board of trustees of an independent school district may adopt rules that require students at a school in the district to wear school uniforms if the board determines that the requirement would improve the learning environment at the school.
(b) The rules the board of trustees adopts must designate a source of funding that shall be used in providing uniforms for students at the school who are educationally disadvantaged.
(c) A parent or guardian of a student assigned to attend a school at which
students are required to wear school uniforms may choose for the student to
be exempted from the requirement or to transfer to a school at which students
are not required to wear
uniforms and at which space is available if the parent or guardian provides
a written statement that, as determined by the board of trustees, states a bona
fide religious or philosophical objection to the requirement.
(d) Students at a school at which uniforms are required shall wear the uniforms beginning on the 90th day after the date on which the board of trustees adopts the rules that require the uniforms.
(Top)(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) is a member of, pledges to become a member of, joins, or solicits another person to join or pledge to become a member of a public school fraternity, sorority, secret society, or gang; or
(2) is not enrolled in a public school and solicits another person to attend a meeting of a public school fraternity, sorority, secret society, or gang or a meeting at which membership in one of those groups is encouraged.
(b) A school district board of trustees or an educator shall recommend placing in an alternative education program any student under the person’s control who violates Subsection (a).
(c) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(d) In this section, "public school fraternity, sorority, secret society, or gang" means an organization composed wholly or in part of students of public primary or secondary schools that seeks to perpetuate itself by taking in additional members from the students enrolled in school on the basis of the decision of its membership rather than on the free choice of a student in the school who is qualified by the rules of the school to fill the special aims of the organization. The term does not include an agency for public welfare, including Boy Scouts, Hi-Y, Girl Reserves, DeMolay, Rainbow Girls, Pan-American Clubs, scholarship societies, or other similar educational organizations sponsored by state or national education authorities.
In this chapter:
(1) "Combination" and "criminal street gang" have the meanings assigned by Section 71.01, Penal Code.
(2) "Child" has the meaning assigned by Section 51.02, Family Code.
(3) "Criminal information" means facts, material, photograph, or data reasonably related to the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.
(4) "Criminal activity" means conduct that is subject to prosecution.
(5) "Criminal justice agency" has the meaning assigned by Article 60.01 and also means a municipal or county agency, or school district law enforcement agency, that is engaged in the administration of criminal justice under a statute or executive order.
(6) "Administration of criminal justice" has the meaning assigned by Article 60.01.
(7) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas.
(8) "Intelligence database" means a collection or compilation of data organized for search and retrieval to evaluate, analyze, disseminate, or use intelligence information relating to a criminal combination or a criminal street gang for the purpose of investigating or prosecuting criminal offenses.
(9) "Law enforcement agency" does not include the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or the Texas Youth Commission.
In this chapter,
(a) "Combination" means three or more persons who collaborate in carrying on criminal activities, although:
(1) participants may not know each other’s identity;
(2) membership in the combination may change from time to time; and
(3) participants may stand in a wholesaler-retailer or other arm’s-length relationship in illicit distribution operations.
(b) "Conspires to commit" means that a person agrees with one or more persons that they or one or more of them engage in conduct that would constitute the offense and that person and one or more of them perform an overt act in pursuance of the agreement. An agreement constituting conspiring to commit may be inferred from the acts of the parties.
(c) "Profits" means property constituting or derived from any proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, from an offense listed in Section 71.02.
(d) "Criminal street gang" means three or more persons having a common identifying sign or symbol or an identifiable leadership who continuously or regularly associate in the commission of criminal activities.
In this subchapter:
(1) "Combination" and "criminal street gang" have the meanings assigned by Section 71.01, Penal Code.
(2) "Continuously or regularly" means at least five times in a period of not more than 12 months.
(3) "Gang activity" means the following types of conduct:
(A) organized criminal activity as described by Section 71.02, Penal Code;
(B) terroristic threat as described by Section 22.07, Penal Code;
(C) coercing, soliciting, or inducing gang membership as described by Section 22.015, Penal Code;
(D) criminal trespass as described by Section 30.05, Penal Code;
(E) disorderly conduct as described by Section 42.01, Penal Code;
(F) criminal mischief as described by Section 28.03, Penal Code, that causes a pecuniary loss of $ 500 or more;
(G) a graffiti offense in violation of Section 28.08, Penal Code, that:
(i) causes a pecuniary loss of $ 500 or more; or
(ii) occurs at a school, an institution of higher education, a place of worship or human cemetery, a public monument, or a community center that provides medical, social, or educational programs;
(H) a weapons offense in violation of Chapter 46, Penal Code; or
(I) unlawful possession of a substance or other item in violation of Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code.
(Top)(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) is a member of, pledges to become a member of, joins, or solicits another person to join or pledge to become a member of a public school fraternity, sorority, secret society, or gang; or
(2) is not enrolled in a public school and solicits another person to attend a meeting of a public school fraternity, sorority, secret society, or gang or a meeting at which membership in one of those groups is encouraged.
(b) A school district board of trustees or an educator shall recommend placing in an alternative education program any student under the person’s control who violates Subsection (a).
(c) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(d) In this section, "public school fraternity, sorority, secret society, or gang" means an organization composed wholly or in part of students of public primary or secondary schools that seeks to perpetuate itself by taking in additional members from the students enrolled in school on the basis of the decision of its membership rather than on the free choice of a student in the school who is qualified by the rules of the school to fill the special aims of the organization. The term does not include an agency for public welfare, including Boy Scouts, Hi-Y, Girl Reserves, DeMolay, Rainbow Girls, Pan-American Clubs, scholarship societies, or other similar educational organizations sponsored by state or national education authorities.
(Top)(a) A person commits an offense if, without the effective consent of the owner:
(3) he intentionally or knowingly makes markings, including inscriptions, slogans, drawings, or paintings, on the tangible property of the owner.
(a) A person commits an offense if, without the effective consent of the owner, the person intentionally or knowingly makes markings, including inscriptions, slogans, drawings, or paintings, on the tangible property of the owner with:
(1) aerosol paint;
(2) an indelible marker; or
(3) an etching or engraving device.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), an offense under this section is:
(1) a Class B misdemeanor if the amount of pecuniary loss is less than $500;
(2) a Class A misdemeanor if the amount of pecuniary loss is $500 or more but less than $1,500;
(3) a state jail felony if the amount of pecuniary loss is $1,500 or more but less than $20,000;
(4) a felony of the third degree if the amount of pecuniary loss is $20,000 or more but less than $100,000;
(5) a felony of the second degree if the amount of pecuniary loss is $100,000 or more but less than $200,000; or
(6) a felony of the first degree if the amount of pecuniary loss is $200,000 or more.
(c) When more than one item of tangible property, belonging to one or more owners, is marked in violation of this section pursuant to one scheme or continuing course of conduct, the conduct may be considered as one offense, and the amounts of pecuniary loss to property resulting from the marking of the property may be aggregated in determining the grade of the offense.
(d) An offense under this section is a state jail felony if:
(1) the marking is made on a school, an institution of higher education, a place of worship or human burial, a public monument, or a community center that provides medical, social, or educational programs; and
(2) the amount of the pecuniary loss to real property or to tangible personal property is less than $20,000.
(e) In this section:
(1) "Aerosol paint" means an aerosolized paint product.
(2) "Etching or engraving device" means a device that makes a delineation or impression on tangible property, regardless of the manufacturer's intended use for that device.
(3) "Indelible marker" means a device that makes a mark with a paint or ink product that is specifically formulated to be more difficult to erase, wash out, or remove than ordinary paint or ink products.
(4) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning assigned by Section 481.134, Health and Safety Code.
(5) "School" means a private or public elementary or secondary school.
(a) A defendant convicted of an offense under Section 28.08, Penal Code, in a county court, county court at law, or district court shall pay a $5 graffiti eradication fee as a cost of court.
(b) In this article, a person is considered convicted if:
(1) a sentence is imposed on the person;
(2) the person receives community supervision, including deferred adjudication; or
(3) the court defers final disposition of the person’s case.
(c) The clerks of the respective courts shall collect the costs and pay them to the county treasurer or to any other official who discharges the duties commonly delegated to the county treasurer for deposit in a fund to be known as the county graffiti eradication fund. A fund designated by this subsection may be used only to:
(1) repair damage caused by the commission of offenses under Section 28.08, Penal Code;
(2) provide educational and intervention programs designed to prevent individuals from committing offenses under Section 28.08, Penal Code; and
(3) provide to the public rewards for identifying and aiding in the apprehension and prosecution of offenders who commit offenses under Section 28.08, Penal Code.
(d) The county graffiti eradication fund shall be administered by or under the direction of the commissioners court.
In this subchapter:
(1) "Combination" and "criminal street gang" have the meanings assigned by Section 71.01, Penal Code.
(2) "Continuously or regularly" means at least five times in a period of not more than 12 months.
(3) "Gang activity" means the following types of conduct:
(A) organized criminal activity as described by Section 71.02, Penal Code;
(B) terroristic threat as described by Section 22.07, Penal Code;
(C) coercing, soliciting, or inducing gang membership as described by Section 22.015, Penal Code;
(D) criminal trespass as described by Section 30.05, Penal Code;
(E) disorderly conduct as described by Section 42.01, Penal Code;
(F) criminal mischief as described by Section 28.03, Penal Code, that causes a pecuniary loss of $ 500 or more;
(G) a graffiti offense in violation of Section 28.08, Penal Code, that:
(i) causes a pecuniary loss of $ 500 or more; or
(ii) occurs at a school, an institution of higher education, a place of worship or human cemetery, a public monument, or a community center that provides medical, social, or educational programs;
(H) a weapons offense in violation of Chapter 46, Penal Code; or
(I) unlawful possession of a substance or other item in violation of Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code.
(Top)(a) In this article, "task force" means the Texas Violent Gang Task Force.
(b) The purpose of the task force is to form a strategic partnership between state, federal, and local law enforcement agencies to better enable law enforcement and correctional agencies to take a proactive stance towards tracking gang activity and the growth and spread of gangs statewide.
(c) The task force shall focus its efforts on:
(1) developing a statewide networking system that will provide timely access to gang information;
(2) establishing communication between different law enforcement agencies, combining independent agency resources, and joining agencies together in a cooperative effort to focus on gang membership, gang activity, and gang migration trends; and
(3) forming a working group of law enforcement and correctional representatives from throughout the state to discuss specific cases and investigations involving gangs and other related gang activities.
(a) The office of the attorney general shall establish an electronic gang resource system to provide criminal justice agencies and juvenile justice agencies with information about criminal street gangs in the state. The system may include the following information with regard to any gang:
(1) gang name;
(2) gang identifiers, such as colors used, tattoos, and clothing preferences;
(3) criminal activities;
(4) migration trends;
(5) recruitment activities; and
(6) a local law enforcement contact.
(b) Upon request by the office of the attorney general, criminal justice agencies and juvenile justice agencies shall make a reasonable attempt to provide gang information to the office of the attorney general for the purpose of maintaining an updated, comprehensive gang resource system.
(c) The office of the attorney general shall cooperate with criminal justice agencies and juvenile justice agencies in collecting and maintaining the accuracy of the information included in the gang resource system.
(d) Information relating to the identity of a specific offender or alleged offender may not be maintained in the gang resource system.
(e) Information in the gang resource system may be used in investigating gang-related crimes but may be included in affidavits or subpoenas or used in connection with any other legal or judicial proceeding only if the information from the system is corroborated by information not provided or maintained in the system.
(f) Access to the gang resource system shall be limited to criminal justice agency personnel and juvenile justice agency personnel.
(g) Information in the gang resource system shall be accessible by:
(1) municipality or county; and
(2) gang name.
(h) The office of the attorney general may coordinate with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to include information in the gang resource system regarding groups which have been identified by the Security Threat Group Management Office of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
(a) A tattooist may not tattoo:
(1) except as provided by Subsection (a-1), a person younger than 18 years of
age; or
(2) a person who the tattooist suspects is under the influence of alcohol or
drugs.
(a-1) A tattooist may tattoo a person younger than 18 years of age if:
(1) the tattoo will cover a tattoo that contains:
(A) obscene or offensive language or symbols;
(B) gang-related names, symbols, or markings;
(C) drug-related names, symbols, or pictures; or
(D) other words, symbols, or markings that the person's parent or guardian
considers would be in the best interest of the person to cover; and
(2) the person has obtained consent from the person's parent or guardian to
cover the tattoo.
(b) The consent required by Subsection (a-1) may be satisfied by the
individual's parent or guardian:
(1) being physically present at the tattoo studio at the time the tattooing is
performed;
(2) executing an affidavit stating that the person is the parent or guardian of
the individual on whom the tattooing is to be performed;
(3) presenting evidence of the person's identity to the person who will perform
the tattooing; and
(4) presenting evidence of the person's status as parent or guardian of the
individual who will receive the tattoo.
(c) A person younger than 18 years of age commits an offense if the person
falsely states that the person is 18 years of age or older or presents any
document that indicates that the person is 18 years of age or older to a person
engaged in the operation of a tattoo studio. An offense under this subsection is
a Class B misdemeanor
The habitual use or the threatened or contemplated habitual use of any place
for any of the following purposes is a public nuisance:
(8) engaging in organized criminal activity as a member of a combination or
as a member of a criminal street gang as described by Section 71.02, Penal Code;
or
Text of subd. (8) as amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 663,
Sec. 5
(8) reckless discharge of a firearm as described by Section 42.12, Penal Code;
(9) engaging in organized criminal activity as a member of a combination as
described by Section 71.02, Penal Code;
A combination or criminal street gang that continuously or regularly associates in gang activities is a public nuisance.
The habitual use of a place by a combination or criminal street gang for engaging in gang activity is a public nuisance.
(a) A district, county, or city attorney, the attorney general, or a resident
of the state may sue to enjoin a public nuisance under this subchapter.
(b) Any person who habitually associates with others to engage in gang activity
as a member of a combination or criminal street gang may be made a defendant in
the suit. Any person who owns or is responsible for maintaining a place that is
habitually used for engaging in gang activity may be made a defendant in the
suit.
(c) If the suit is brought by the state, the petition does not require verification.
(d) If the suit is brought by a resident, the resident is not required to show personal injury
(a) If the court finds that a combination or criminal street gang constitutes a public nuisance, the court may enter an order:
(1) enjoining a defendant in the suit from engaging in the gang activities of the combination or gang; and
(2) imposing other reasonable requirements to prevent the combination or gang from engaging in future gang activities.
(b) If the court finds that a place is habitually used in a manner that constitutes a public nuisance, the court may include in its order reasonable requirements to prevent the use of the place for gang activity.
In an action brought under this subchapter, proof that gang activity by a member of a combination or a criminal street gang is frequently committed at a place or proof that a place is frequently used for engaging in gang activity by a member of a combination or a criminal street gang is prima facie evidence that the proprietor knowingly permitted the act, unless the act constitutes conspiring to commit gang activity.