Overall Vote Recommendation

Principle Criteria

Free Enterprise

Property Rights

Personal Responsibility

Limited Government

Individual Liberty

Digest

HB 1160 increases criminal penalties for assault against utility employees or agents performing their duties, elevating such offenses to a third-degree felony. It also expands the definition of utility workers covered under this provision and includes additional protections against interference with their public duties.

The legislation defines "utility" broadly to include electric utilities, telecommunications providers, video service and cable providers, gas utilities, and water and sewage service providers. It also clarifies that a worker's status as a utility employee or agent is presumed if the individual is wearing a uniform or badge identifying their role at the time of the offense.

The overall intent of HB 1160 is to deter threats and violence against workers who perform critical infrastructure functions by granting them similar legal protections to other essential service personnel. By elevating the penalties for crimes against these workers, the bill aims to enhance public safety, maintain reliable utility services, and ensure that those serving the community can do so without undue risk of harm.

The originally filed version of HB 1160 focused specifically on enhancing the criminal penalty for assault against employees or agents of utility companies and extending interference with public duties protections to these workers. It amended Sections 22.01 and 38.15 of the Penal Code, defined "utility" to include electric, gas, telecommunications, video, pipeline, and water providers, and set a clear effective date of September 1, 2025. The core intent was to recognize utility workers similarly to other protected categories like emergency personnel and hospital staff.

The Committee Substitute retained the core purpose of the filed bill but expanded its reach. Most notably, it added Section 12.50(b) of the Penal Code to allow for penalty enhancements during declared disasters or emergencies when utility workers are involved. This creates stronger consequences for assaulting or interfering with utility workers under emergency conditions, a provision absent from the original filing. The substitute also introduced a presumption clause under Section 22.01(d), making it easier for prosecutors to prove that a defendant knew the victim was a utility worker if the worker was wearing a distinctive uniform or badge.

Overall, while the originally filed bill provided basic new protections for utility workers, the committee substitute broadened those protections, reinforced them with presumptive evidence rules, and linked utility worker assaults to Texas’ broader disaster-related criminal penalty enhancements. These additions strengthen enforcement mechanisms and increase the likelihood of successful prosecution compared to the original version.

Author (5)

Lacey Hull

Sam Harless

Mary Perez

Mano DeAyala

Ana Hernandez

Co-Author (2)

Donna Howard

Ann Johnson

Contact the Author

Rep. Lacey Hull

Capitol Phone:

(512) 463-0727

Capitol Office:

EXT E2.212

E-Mail:

[email protected]

Visit Official Website

Fiscal Notes

According to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB), the fiscal impact of HB 1160 on state correctional resources is indeterminate. The bill increases the criminal penalty for assaulting a utility worker from a Class A misdemeanor to a third-degree felony, and it broadens the offense of interference with public duties to cover utility employees and agents, with the potential for further penalty enhancements during disasters or emergencies. Because there is no available data to estimate how often these newly specified offenses would occur, the LBB cannot determine precisely how many additional individuals might be incarcerated or supervised if the bill becomes law.

In general, raising penalties is expected to create greater demand on correctional systems, including higher costs associated with longer incarcerations and increased community supervision caseloads. However, the size of that impact depends on actual prosecution rates and sentencing outcomes, which are currently unknown.

At the local level, the bill could similarly lead to increased demands on county jails, community supervision (probation) departments, and court systems. Although the LBB acknowledges the potential for higher costs to counties and municipalities, it also concludes that the exact fiscal effect cannot be quantified due to the same lack of incident data.

In summary, while HB 1160 may contribute to added costs at both state and local levels by increasing the number of felony prosecutions and detentions, the Legislative Budget Board officially finds the fiscal implications cannot be determined at this time.

Vote Recommendation Notes

While the bill aims to protect utility workers by increasing penalties for assault and interference with their duties, it ultimately raises serious concerns about over-criminalization, limited government, and fiscal responsibility. Existing Texas law already criminalizes assault and interference against public servants and other critical personnel, and utility workers are not without recourse under current statutes. Expanding the criminal code to elevate relatively minor assaults to felonies risks punishing conduct disproportionately to the harm caused, which runs counter to principles of justice and proportionality.

Additionally, the bill creates another special protected class, further fragmenting the law by offering heightened protections to specific professions without a clear, data-driven showing of widespread or systemic need. This approach erodes the uniform application of the law, setting a precedent for future expansions based more on political momentum than on demonstrated necessity. Furthermore, the fiscal note acknowledges that while the impact on correctional resources cannot be precisely determined, it could very well increase state and local costs by expanding incarceration and supervision obligations — a burden the taxpayers may be forced to absorb without a corresponding public safety gain.

From a liberty-focused, limited government standpoint, HB 1160 unnecessarily enlarges the reach of state power and imposes criminal penalties beyond what is needed to maintain order and protect workers. Lawmakers committed to protecting individual liberty, fiscal prudence, proportional justice, and the principle of equal treatment under the law should therefore oppose this bill. Texas Policy Research recommends that lawmakers vote NO on HB 1160.

The bill impacts individual liberty by increasing the state's power to impose severe criminal penalties — specifically, elevating an assault on a utility worker from a misdemeanor to a felony. While protecting workers is important, criminalizing more behavior at the felony level reduces individual freedom by exposing people to far greater punishment for conduct that may not involve significant harm. Felony convictions also carry long-term consequences: loss of voting rights, firearm ownership restrictions, diminished employment opportunities, and social stigma. Expanding the scope of felony offenses without clear necessity thus erodes individual liberty.
On one hand, the bill emphasizes personal responsibility by holding individuals more accountable for assaults on essential workers. However, the enhancement applies regardless of the severity of the injury or the broader context, meaning a person could face serious prison time even for a minor scuffle. Overly harsh penalties not properly tied to the degree of wrongdoing undermine a fair and just system of personal responsibility.
There is a modest argument that protecting utility workers helps ensure the stability of essential infrastructure, which in turn supports free enterprise and economic continuity. However, that benefit is indirect and could be achieved through workplace safety policies or enhanced civil remedies without altering the criminal law so significantly.
The bill does not directly affect property rights, although stable utility services could arguably preserve access to utilities tied to property use. Still, the bill is primarily focused on criminal behavior, not property ownership or protection.
HB 1160 runs counter to limited government principles. Expanding the criminal code to include more felony-level offenses increases the reach of government into private life and subjects more people to heavy state control. Protecting utility workers could be accomplished through better enforcement of existing laws without expanding criminal classifications. A limited government seeks to use the criminal law sparingly and proportionally, not as a blanket tool for broad deterrence.

Related Legislation

SB 482 (Similar To)

View Bill Text and Status