TITLE: Relating to the prosecution and punishment of the offense of false caller identification information display.

SUMMARY: Relating to the prosecution and punishment of the offense of false caller identification information display.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to the prosecution and punishment of the offense of false caller identification information display. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Sections 33A.051, Penal Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: (a) A person commits an offense if the person [ with the intent to defraud or cause harm] makes a call or engages in any other conduct using any type of technology that results in the display on another person's telecommunications device of data that misrepresents the actor's identity or telephone number. (b) An offense under this section is a Class B[A] misdemeanor,except that the offense is a Class A misdemeanor if the actor committed the offense with the intent to defraud or cause harm.(c) it is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the identity or telephone number displayed: (1) is a working number at which calls or any other conduct using any type of technology are answered; and (2) legally belongs to: (A) the actor; (B) the actor's legal employer; (C) the actor's coworker or associate; (D) the person or entity legally contracting the actor to call or engage in any other conduct using any type of technology for a lawful purpose; or (E) the person or entity the actor is volunteering for to call or engage in any other conduct using any type of technology for a lawful purpose. SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.