Interference with Public Duties: Texas Penal Code §38.15

The Texas Interference with Public Duties law gives police the right to arrest you if they believe you interfered with the duties of a peace officer, a medical service worker, firefighter, animal control officer, a person transmitting an emergency communication, or a utility employee or agent performing job duties.

The Texas legislature codified this criminal offense in Texas Penal Code Section 38.15. The law was amended in 2025 to add utility employees and agents to the protected list and to define ‘utility,’ with the changes applying to offenses committed on or after September 1, 2025.

The Penal Code classifies the Texas Interference with Public Duties law under Title 8 “Offenses Against Public Administration,” Chapter 38 “Obstructing Governmental Operation.” Learn more about the Texas offense of Interference with Public Duties below.

What is the current Texas law about Interference with Public Duties?

AV Preeminent Texas lawyer Paul Saputo provides the current law defining Interference with Public Duties in Penal Code Section §38.15, as follows:^[1]

(a) A person commits an offense if the person with criminal negligence interrupts, disrupts, impedes, or otherwise interferes with:

(1) a peace officer while the peace officer is performing a duty or exercising authority imposed or granted by law;

(2) a person who is employed to provide emergency medical services including the transportation of ill or injured persons while the person is performing that duty;

(3) a fire fighter, while the fire fighter is fighting a fire or investigating the cause of a fire;

(4) an animal under the supervision of a peace officer, corrections officer, or jailer, if the person knows the animal is being used for law enforcement, corrections, prison or jail security, or investigative purposes;

(5) the transmission of a communication over a citizen’s band radio channel, the purpose of which communication is to inform or inquire about an emergency;

(6) an officer with responsibility for animal control in a county or municipality, while the officer is performing a duty or exercising authority imposed or granted under Chapter 821 or 822, Health and Safety Code;

(7) a person who:

(A) has responsibility for assessing, enacting, or enforcing public health, environmental, radiation, or safety measures for the state or a county or municipality;

(B) is investigating a particular site as part of the person’s responsibilities under Paragraph (A);

(C) is acting in accordance with policies and procedures related to the safety and security of the site described by Paragraph (B); and

(D) is performing a duty or exercising authority imposed or granted under the Agriculture Code, Health and Safety Code, Occupations Code, or Water Code; or

(8) a person who is an employee or agent of a utility while the person is performing a duty within the scope of that employment or agency.

Subsection 8 took effect September 1, 2025, and the statute now defines “utility” for this purpose. These two changes—adding utility employees and agents to the protected list and adding the definition—apply only to offenses committed on or after that date.^[2]

What is the penalty for a Texas Interference with Public Duties offense?

A conviction for Interference with Public Duties is a Class B misdemeanor.^[3] Beginning September 1, 2025, if the offense occurs in an area subject to a disaster declaration or an emergency evacuation order, the punishment level may increase under the disaster-area enhancement statute.^[4]

What changed in 2025?

For offenses committed on or after September 1, 2025, the legislature expanded Interference with Public Duties to include interfering with an employee or agent of a utility who is performing job duties, and it added a statutory definition of “utility.”^[5]

The legislature also made this offense eligible for a punishment increase if committed in a declared disaster area or an area subject to an emergency evacuation order, by adding Section 38.15 to the disaster-area enhancement statute.^[6] These changes apply prospectively only; offenses committed before September 1, 2025 are governed by prior law.^[7]

How can I be charged with an Interference with Public Duties offense in Texas?

You can be charged with Interference with Public Duties in Texas if the state’s attorneys believe that each of the elements of §38.15(a) as described in the section above have been met.

What is the statute of limitations for Interference with Public Duties in Texas?

As a misdemeanor, Interference with Public Duties charges have a two-year limitations period.^[8]

Can you get probation for Interference with Public Duties in Texas?

The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure allows both judges and juries to grant probation for Interference with Public Duties, and judges are also allowed to accept deferred adjudication plea deals.^[9]

What level of crime is Interference with Public Duties in Texas?

The Penal Code classifies Interference with Public Duties as a Class B misdemeanor.

Learn more about the penalty range for this offense in the section above.

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Legal References:

^1. Texas Penal Code §38.15. This law is current as of 2025.^2. Texas Penal Code §38.15(a)(8), (e)(2), as amended by SB 482, 89th Legislature (RS), Section 4; SB 482, 89th Legislature (RS), Sections 7, 8^3. Texas Penal Code §38.15(b)^4. Texas Penal Code §12.50(b)(12), as amended by SB 482, 89th Legislature (RS), Section 1; Sections 7, 8^5. Texas Penal Code §38.15(a)(8), (e)(2), as amended by SB 482, 89th Legislature (RS), Section 4^6. Texas Penal Code §12.50(b)(12), as amended by SB 482, 89th Legislature (RS), Section 1^7. SB 482, 89th Legislature (RS), Sections 7, 8^8. See Code of Criminal Procedure 12.02(a)^9. See Chapter 42A, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Art. 42A.054, Art. 42A.056, Art. 42A.102