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Texas Government Code - Section 411.017. Unauthorized Acts Involving Department Name, Insignia, Or Division Name

Legal Research Home > Texas Lawyer > Government Code > Texas Government Code - Section 411.017. Unauthorized Acts Involving Department Name, Insignia, Or Division Name

§ 411.017. UNAUTHORIZED ACTS INVOLVING DEPARTMENT NAME, 
INSIGNIA, OR DIVISION NAME.  (a) A person commits an offense if, 
without the director's authorization, the person:
		(1)  manufactures, sells, or possesses a badge, 
identification card, or other item bearing a department insignia or 
an insignia deceptively similar to the department's;
		(2)  makes a copy or likeness of a badge, 
identification card, or department insignia, with intent to use or 
allow another to use the copy or likeness to produce an item bearing 
the department insignia or an insignia deceptively similar to the 
department's;  or
		(3)  uses the term "Texas Department of Public Safety," 
"Department of Public Safety," "Texas Ranger," or "Texas Highway 
Patrol" in connection with an object, with the intent to create the 
appearance that the object belongs to or is being used by the 
department.
	(b)  In this section, "department insignia" means an 
insignia or design prescribed by the director for use by officers 
and employees of the department in connection with their official 
activities.  An insignia is deceptively similar to the department's 
if it is not prescribed by the department but a reasonable person 
would presume that it was prescribed by the department.
	(c)  A district or county court, on application of the 
attorney general or of the district attorney or prosecuting 
attorney performing the duties of district attorney for the 
district in which the court is located, may enjoin a violation or 
threatened violation of this section on a showing that a violation 
has occurred or is likely to occur.
	(d)  It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this 
section that the object is used exclusively:
		(1)  for decorative purposes, maintained or preserved 
in a decorative state, and not offered for sale; or
		(2)  in an artistic or dramatic presentation, and 
before the use of the object the producer of the presentation 
notifies the director in writing of the intended use, the location 
where the use will occur, and the period during which the use will 
occur.
	(e)  An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, 
unless the object is shipped by United States mail or by any type of 
commercial carrier from a point outside the State of Texas to a 
point inside the state if the shipper or his agent has been sent 
notification by registered United States mail of this section prior 
to the shipment, in which event the offense is a felony of the third 
degree.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 147, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.  Amended 
by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 496, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Last modified: August 11, 2007