Signed by Governor Greg Abbott

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that increases the criminal penalty to a state jail felony offense for anyone who knowingly blocks an emergency vehicle or obstructs access to a hospital or health care facility.

Highlights:

• Requires as a condition of community supervision that the defendant submits to not less than 10 days of confinement in a county jail (Sec. 1).

• Establishes in committing the offense, the actor knowingly (Sec. 2):

• Prevents the passage of an authorized emergency vehicle that is operating the vehicle’s emergency audible or visual signals; or

• Obstructs access to a hospital or other health care facility that provides emergency medical care.

• Specifies 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 (Sec. 3).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that increases the criminal penalty to a state jail felony offense for anyone who knowingly blocks an emergency vehicle or obstructs access to a hospital or health care facility.

Highlights:

• Requires as a condition of community supervision that the defendant submits to not less than 10 days of confinement in a county jail (Sec. 1).

• Establishes in committing the offense, the actor knowingly (Sec. 2):

• Prevents the passage of an authorized emergency vehicle that is operating the vehicle’s emergency audible or visual signals; or

• Obstructs access to a hospital or other health care facility that provides emergency medical care.

• Specifies 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 (Sec. 3).

Full Bill Text