Making a false report of a crime or emergency that triggers an emergency response can be an offense.
Sec. 42.0601. FALSE REPORT TO INDUCE EMERGENCY RESPONSE. (a) A person commits an offense if: (1) the person makes a report of a criminal offense or an emergency or causes a report of a criminal offense or an emergency to be made to a peace officer, law enforcement agency, 9-1-1 service as defined by Section 771.001, Health and Safety Code, official or volunteer agency organized to deal with emergencies, or any other governmental employee or contractor who is authorized to receive reports of a criminal offense or emergency; (2) the person knows that the report is false; (3) the report causes an emergency response from a law enforcement agency or other emergency responder; and (4) in making the report or causing the report to be made, the person is reckless with regard to whether the emergency response by a law enforcement agency or other emergency responder may directly result in bodily injury to another person. (b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is: (1) a state jail felony if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has previously been convicted two or more times of an offense under this section; or (2) a felony of the third degree if: (A) the false report was of a criminal offense to which a law enforcement agency or other emergency responder responded; and (B) a person suffered serious bodily injury or death as a direct result of lawful conduct arising out of that response. (c) If conduct constituting an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the actor may be prosecuted under either section or both sections. (d) This section may not be construed in any manner to conflict with 47 U.S.C. Section 230 or 42 U.S.C. Section 1983. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 945 (S.B. 1056), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2021.