06-95-Ordinance-Enacting a Juvenile Curfew-09/05/1995CITY OF SANGER, TEXAS
ORDINANCE NO. 0 6 - 9 5
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SANGER, TEXAS, REVISING
THE CODE OF ORDINANCES BY ENACTING JUVENILE CURFEW
REGULATIONS; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTING ORDINANCES
AND PROVISIONS OF THE CITY; ESTABLISHING SEVERABILITY
OF THE ORDINANCE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
FOR THE ORDINANCE.
NOW BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANGER,
TEXAS:
I. CODE OF ORDINANCES REVISED
A. That Chapter 7 of the Code of Ordinances be revised with the addition of a new
Article 7.600 regarding a juvenile curfew to read as follows:
"ARTICLE 7.600 JUVENILE CURFEW
Sec.7.601 Definitions
Curfew Hours.
(1) 11:00 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, until
6: 00 a.m. of the following day; and
(2) 12:01 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. on any Friday or Saturday; and
(3) Between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, or Friday when public schools are in session.
Emergency. Unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for
immediate action. The term includes, but is not limited to, a fire, a natural disaster, an
automobile accident, or any situation requiring immediate action to prevent serious
bodily injury or loss of life.
Establishment. Any privately -owned place of business operated for a profit to which the
public is invited; including but not limited to any place of amusement or entertainment.
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Guardian.
(1) A person who, under court order, is the guardian of the person of a minor; or
(2) A public or private agency with whom a minor has been placed by a court.
Minor. Any person under 17 years of age.
Operator. Any individual, firm, association, partnership, or corporation operating,
managing, or conducting any establishment. The term includes the members or partners
of an association or partnership and the officers of a corporation.
Parent. A person who is:
(1) A natural parent, adoptive parent, or step-parent of another person; or
(2) At least 18 years of age and authorized by a parent or guardian to have the
care and custody of a minor.
Public Place. Any place in which the public or a substantial group of the public has
access and includes, but is not limited to, streets, highways, and the common areas of
schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities, and shops.
Remain.
(1) Linger or stay; or
(2) Fail to leave premises when requested to do so by a police officer or the
owner, operator, or other person in control of the premises.
Serious Bodil� Iniury. Bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes
death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function
of any bodily member or organ.
Sec.7.602 Offenses
(a) A minor commits an offense if he remains in any public place or on the premises of
any establishment within the city during curfew hours.
(b) A parent or guardian of a minor commits an offense if he knowingly permits, or by
insufficient control allows, the minor to remain in any public place or on the premises of
any establishment within the city during curfew hours.
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(c) The owner, operator, or any employee of an establishment commits an offense if he
knowingly allows a minor to remain upon the premises of the establishment during
curfew hours.
Sec.7.603 Defenses
(a) It is a defense to prosecution under Section 7.602 that the minor was:
(1) Accompanied by the minor's parent, guardian, or adult spouse;
(2) On an errand at the direction of the minor's parent or guardian, without any
detour or stop;
(3) In a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel;
(4) Engaged in an employment activity, or going to or returning home from an
employment activity, without any detour or stop;
(5) Involved in an emergency;
(6) On the sidewalk abutting the minor's residence or abutting the residence of a
next -door neighbor if the neighbor did not complain to the police department
about the minor's presence;
(7) Attending an official school, religious, or other recreational activity
supervised by adults and sponsored by the City of Sanger, a civic
organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor,
or going to or returning home from, without any detour or stop, an official
school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by adults and
sponsored by the City of Sanger, a civic organization, or another similar entity
that takes responsibility for the minor;
(8) Exercising First Amendment rights protected by the United States
Constitution, such as the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, and the
right of assembly; or
(9) A minor who has had disabilities of minority removed in accordance with
Chapter 31 of the Texas Family Code.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under Section 7.602(c) that the owner, operator, or
employee of an establishment promptly notified the police department that a minor was
present on the premises of the establishment during curfew hours and refused to leave.
(c) With respect to the hours between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday only, it is a defense that the school which the minor
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attends was not in session, that the minor is a high school graduate or has equivalent
certification, the minor is on an excused absence from his or her place of schooling, or
that the minor is participating in a work-study program which requires the minor to be off
campus during school hours.
Sec.7.604 Enforcement
Before taking any enforcement action under this article, a police officer shall ask the
apparent offender's age and reason for being in the public place. The officer shall not
issue a citation or make an arrest under this article unless the officer reasonably believes
that an offense has occurred and that, based on any response and other circumstances, no
defense in Section 7.603 is present.
Sec.7.605 Penalties
(a) A person who violates a provision of this article is guilty of a separate offense for
each day or part of a day during which the violation is committed, continued, or
permitted. Each offense, upon conviction, is punishable by a fine as provided for in the
general penalty provision found in Section 1.106 of this code.
(b) When required by Section 51.08 of the Texas Family Code, as amended, the
municipal court shall waive original jurisdiction over a minor who violates Section
7.602(a) of this article and shall refer the minor to juvenile court."
II. CONFLICTING PROVISIONS
Any and all Ordinances of the City of Sanger, Texas, heretofore adopted which are in
conflict with this Ordinance are hereby expressly repealed insofar as the same are in
conflict therewith.
III. SEVERABILITY OF ORDINANCE
If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word in this Ordinance,
or application thereof to any person or circumstances, is held invalid by a court of
competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions
of the Ordinance, and the City Council of the City of Sanger, Texas, hereby declares that
it would have passed such remaining portions of the Ordinance despite such invalidity.
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IV. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Ordinance shall take effect immediately from and after passage and publication, as
the law in such cases provides.
DULY ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANGER, TEXAS,
ON THIS THE 5th DAY OF September , 19 95 .
ATTEST:
City Secretary, City of Sanger exas
Mayor, City of Sanger, Texas
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