2023 Texas Statutes › Penal Code › Title 5 - Offenses Against the Person › Chapter 22 - Assaultive Offenses › Section 22.041. Abandoning or Endangering a Child, Elderly Individual, or Disabled Individual

Sec. 22.041.  ABANDONING OR ENDANGERING A CHILD, ELDERLY INDIVIDUAL, OR DISABLED INDIVIDUAL.  (a)  In this section:
(1)  "Abandon" means to leave in any place without providing reasonable and necessary care a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual under circumstances under which no reasonable, similarly situated person would leave a child or individual of that age and ability.
(2)  "Child," "elderly individual," and "disabled individual" have the meanings assigned by Section 22.04.
(b)  A person commits an offense if the person, having custody, care, or control of a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual, intentionally abandons the child or individual in any place under circumstances that expose the child or individual to an unreasonable risk of harm.
(c)  A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence, by act or omission, engages in conduct that places a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment.
(c-1)  For purposes of Subsection (c), it is presumed that a person engaged in conduct that places a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment if:
(1)  the person manufactured, possessed, or in any way introduced into the body of any person the controlled substance methamphetamine in the presence of the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual;
(2)  the person's conduct related to the proximity or accessibility of the controlled substance methamphetamine to the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual and an analysis of a specimen of the child's or individual's blood, urine, or other bodily substance indicates the presence of methamphetamine in the body of the child or individual; or
(3)  the person injected, ingested, inhaled, or otherwise introduced a controlled substance listed in Penalty Group 1, Section 481.102, Health and Safety Code, or Penalty Group 1-B, Section 481.1022, Health and Safety Code, into the human body when the person was not in lawful possession of the substance as defined by Section 481.002(24) of that code.
(d)  Except as provided by Subsection (e), an offense under Subsection (b) is:
(1)  a state jail felony if the actor abandoned the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual with intent to return for the child or individual; or
(2)  a felony of the third degree if the actor abandoned the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual without intent to return for the child or individual.
(e)  An offense under Subsection (b) is a felony of the second degree if the actor abandons the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual under circumstances that a reasonable person would believe would place the child or individual in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment.
(f)  An offense under Subsection (c) is a state jail felony.
(g)  It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (c) that the act or omission enables the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual to practice for or participate in an organized athletic event and that appropriate safety equipment and procedures are employed in the event.
(h)  It is an exception to the application of this section for abandoning or endangering a child that the actor voluntarily delivered the child to a designated emergency infant care provider under Section 262.302, Family Code.
Added by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 791, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.  Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 904, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989;  Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 687, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1087, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1999;  Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 809, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 282 (H.B. 164), Sec. 10, eff. August 1, 2005.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 840 (H.B. 946), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 584 (S.B. 768), Sec. 19, eff. September 1, 2021.
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 830 (H.B. 2187), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2023.