Counties would designate safety corridors and restrict repeat offenders

A board of county commissioners would designate one or more public-safety corridors, and repeat misdemeanor offenders would be barred from entering the corridor where the offense occurred. This applies to counties with populations of 700,000 or more and to people charged with, convicted of, or placed in deferred adjudication for misdemeanor offenses committed in a designated corridor. The county must post a clear map of each corridor on its website. For a first offense within two years, a court may bar entry for up to one year. For a second or later offense within two years, the court must bar entry for at least one year. The county may set conditions or exceptions that allow a person to enter the corridor. The provisions would apply beginning January 1, 2026, if the bill becomes law; the two-year offense periods apply to offenses committed within a designated corridor.

Assault and battery penalties would apply to attacks on covered hospitality employees in the same way the text lists penalties for attacks on other protected workers. Covered workers include identified employees of resort hotels, resort condominiums, arenas, stadiums, and convention centers who work on the property or travel within a designated corridor. For assault, the person must have known or reasonably should have known the victim was a hospitality employee. An assault without a deadly weapon would generally be a gross misdemeanor; an assault with a deadly weapon would be a category B felony. For battery, the penalty depends on factors such as substantial bodily harm, strangulation, a deadly weapon, and whether the attacker is on probation, incarcerated, or parole. These penalty provisions would apply beginning January 1, 2026, if the bill becomes law.

Justice courts could set up misdemeanor case programs, reconsider corridor-entry orders after successful diversion, and send crime reports to lawmakers and county commissioners. This applies to justice courts whose jurisdiction includes a corridor designated by a county with a population of 700,000 or more. A court may rescind an entry ban after a person successfully completes a diversion program when diversion is part of the person’s release, sentencing, suspended sentence, or deferred adjudication. Annual reports would include case counts, offenses, completion rates, entry bans, and diversion information. Monthly reports would also include case and repeat-offender details. Reports could not identify the person under an entry ban or the business or location where the offense occurred. Annual reports would be due by July 1 each year, and monthly reports would be due by the last day of each month; the provisions would apply beginning January 1, 2026, if the bill becomes law.