Ord 010-2004 2/3/2004ORDINANCE NO. I0-�) W IA
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA
FALLS, TEXAS, CONTINUING IN EFFECT SECTION 20 -11 OF THE
CODE OF ORDINANCES, ENTITLED "CURFEW HOURS FOR
MINORS," FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEE =TING AT
WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
AS REQUIRED BY LAW.
WHEREAS, on March 12, 2001, the City Council passed Ordinance 22 -2001,
which adopted curfew hours for minors (codified as Section 20 -11 of the Code of
Ordinances), and,
WHEREAS, Section 370.002 of the LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE requires that the
City Council review its curfew ordinance before the third anniversary of the date of its
adoption, and every third year thereafter, to determine its effects on the community,
then move to formally abolish, continue, or modify the ordinance; and,
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Wichita Falls has conducted two
public hearings regarding the merits of the juvenile curfew ordinance, and has
determined it is in the best interests of the health, safety and welfare of its citizens to
continue such ordinance in its current form.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS:
SECTION 1 . Section 20 -11 of Chapter 20 of the Code of Ordinances of the City
of Wichita Falls entitled "Curfew Hours for Minors" is hereby continued in full force and
effect to read as follows:
'Sec. 20 -11. Curfew Hours for Minors.
(a) Defin itions. In this section:
(1) Curfew Hours means:
(A) 11:00 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
or Thursday, until 6:00 a.m. of the following day, and,
(B) 12:01 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. on any Saturday or Sunday.
(2) Emergency means an 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.
(3) Establishment means 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.
(4) Guardian means:
(A) a person who, under court order, is the guardian of the
person of a minor, or,
(B) a public or private agency with which a minor has been
placed by a court .
(5) Minor means any person under seventeen (17) years of age.
(6) Operator means 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.
(7) Parent means a person who is:
(A) a natural parent, adoptive parent, or step - parent of another
person, or,
(B) at least eighteen (18) years of age and authorized by a
parent or guardian in writing to have the care and custody of
a minor.
(8) Public Place means any place to 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.
(9) Remain means to
(A) linger or stay, or
(B) fail to leave premises when requested to do so by a pol ce
officer or the owner, operator, or other person in control of
the premises.
(10) Serious Bodily Injury means 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.
(b) Offen
(1) 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.
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(c) D efenses.
(1) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b) that the minor
was
(A) accompanied by the minor's parent or guardian,
(B) on an errand at the direction of the minor's parent or
guardian, without any detour or stop,
(C) in a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel;
(D) engaged in an employment activity, or going to or returning
home from an employment activity, without any detour or
stop;
(E) involved in an emergency,
(F) 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 minors
presence;
(G) attending an official school, religious, or other recreational
activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the City of
Wichita Falls, a civic organization, or other similar entity that
takes responsibility for the minor, or going to or returning
home from, without any detour or stop,
(H) 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,
(1) married or had been married or had disabilities of minority
removed in accordance with Chapter 31 of the TEXAs FAMILY
CODE.
(J) attending an activity supervised by adult sponsors taking
responsibility for the minor, and each minor has written
permission from a parent or guardian to attend the activity;
the activity is supervised by an adult sponsor throughout the
length of the activity so that a minor may not leave the
premises or establishment where the activity is held without
a parent, guardian or other adult individual with which a
parent or guardian has given written permission to take the
minor from the activity's premises, all ingress and egress to
the facility must be controlled by the adult sponsor
throughout the duration of the activity to ensure that all
minors are in the premises where the activity is held.
(2) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b)(3) 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.
(d) Enfor
Before taking any enforcement action under this section, 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 section unless the officer
reasonably believes that an offense has occurred and that, based on any response and
other circumstances, no defense in Subsection (c) is present.
(e) Pena lties.
(1) A person who violates a provision of this section 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 not to
exceed Five Hundred (8500.00) Dollars.
(2) 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
Subsection (b)(1) of this section and shall refer the minor to juvenile court."
SECTI 2 . It is hereby officially found and determined that the meeting at
which this ordinance was passed was open to the public as required by law.
PASSED AND APPROVED this the 3` day of February, 2004.
MAYOR
ATTEST:
City Clerk