Public Conduct in Austin, TX (2026)
9 verified public conduct rules for Austin, Texas, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Aggressive Panhandling
Austin City Code Chapter 9-2 prohibits aggressive solicitation, including approaching ATMs, intersections, and outdoor diners, while Texas Penal Code Section 22.06 governs threatening contact; passive panhandling itself remains protected speech under the First Amendment after Reed v. Town of Gilbert.
Austin Aggressive Solicitation Rules Plus Texas Assault Statute
Some RestrictionsTex. Transp. Code Sec. 552.007
Sec. 552.007. SOLICITATION BY PEDESTRIANS. (a) A person may not stand in a roadway to solicit a ride, contribution, employment, or business from an occupant of a vehicle, except that a person may stand in a roadway to solicit a charitable contribution if authorized to do so by the local authority having jurisdiction over the roadway. (b) A person may not stand on or near a highway to solicit th...
Public Urination
Austin City Code Title 10 disorderly conduct provisions and Texas Penal Code Section 42.01 reach public urination through indecent exposure and disorderly conduct charges; Sixth Street and downtown districts see heaviest enforcement during late-night hours.
Public Urination Citable Under Austin Disorderly Conduct Code
Light RestrictionsTex. Penal Code Sec. 42.01(a)(10)-(11)
Sec. 42.01. DISORDERLY CONDUCT. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly: ... (10) exposes his anus or genitals in a public place and is reckless about whether another may be present who will be offended or alarmed by his act; or (11) for a lewd or unlawful purpose: (A) enters on the property of another and looks into a dwelling on the property through any window or othe...
Skateboarding Rules
Austin bars skateboarding on public landscaping, amenities, or art anywhere in the city under City Code Sec. 12-1-32, and separately bans skateboards and roller skates entirely from airport streets, sidewalks, walkways, and terminals under Sec. 13-1-117.
Austin Restricts Skateboards on Public Property
Some RestrictionsAustin City Code Sec. 12-1-32; see also Sec. 13-1-117(B)
(A)A person may not use a toy vehicle on a public street except to cross a street at a crosswalk.(B)A person may not operate a micro-mobility device, or ride a skateboard, toy vehicle, or similar device on public landscaping, amenities or art; or in a manner contrary to the intended use of any amenity.
Loud Party Ordinance
Austin Noise Ordinance Chapter 9-2 prohibits unreasonable noise after 10 p.m. on weeknights and 10:30 p.m. weekends; second-response loud-party calls within 12 hours trigger cost-recovery billing of the host plus class C misdemeanor citations.
Austin Loud Party Cost Recovery Plus Decibel Enforcement
Some RestrictionsTex. Penal Code Sec. 42.01(a)(5)-(6)
Sec. 42.01. DISORDERLY CONDUCT. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly: ... (5) makes unreasonable noise in a public place other than a sport shooting range, as defined by Section 250.001, Local Government Code, or in or near a private residence that he has no right to occupy; (6) fights with another in a public place.
Loitering Rules
Austin has no general ban on loitering; it criminalizes loitering only for specific unlawful purposes. Sec. 9-4-16 bars loitering in public to solicit prostitution, a parallel section bars loitering to sell drugs, and pedestrians may not loiter in a roadway. Officers must offer a chance to explain before arrest.
Austin Loitering Rules Target Prostitution and Drug Sales
Some RestrictionsAustin City Code Sec. 9-4-16
(B)A person commits an offense if the person loiters in a public place in a manner and under circumstances manifesting the purpose of inducing, enticing, soliciting, or procuring another person to commit an act of prostitution.(C)In making a determination that a person is in violation of this section, a peace officer may consider whether the person:(1)is a known prostitute or panderer;(2)repeat...
Outdoor Smoking Restrictions
Austin bans smoking outright in every city park and in enclosed public places and workplaces, plus within 15 feet of doors and windows, under City Code Sec. 10-6-2. A handful of narrow carve-outs cover golf courses, permitted film shoots, retail tobacco stores, and council-approved special-event smoking areas.
Austin Smoking Ban in Parks and Public Places
Heavy RestrictionsAustin City Code Sec. 10-6-2
(A)A person commits an offense if the person smokes in a public place or in a park.(B)A person commits an offense if the person smokes in an enclosed area in a building or facility owned, leased, or operated by the City.(C)A person commits an offense if the person smokes in an enclosed area of a workplace.(D)A person commits an offense if the person smokes within 15 feet from an entrance or ope...
Jaywalking
Texas Transportation Code Section 552.005 requires pedestrians crossing outside marked crosswalks or intersections to yield right-of-way to vehicles; Austin enforces this state statute selectively, with no separate municipal jaywalking ordinance and growing pressure to decriminalize.
Texas Jaywalking Rule: Pedestrians Yield Outside Crosswalks
Few RestrictionsTex. Transp. Code Sec. 552.005 (Crossing at Point Other Than Crosswalk)
Sec. 552.005. CROSSING AT POINT OTHER THAN CROSSWALK. (a) A pedestrian shall yield the right-of-way to a vehicle on the highway if crossing a roadway at a place: (1) other than in a marked crosswalk or in an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection; or (2) where a pedestrian tunnel or overhead pedestrian crossing has been provided. (b) Between adjacent intersections at which traffic control signal...
Public Marijuana Use
Austin voters passed the Freedom Act (Proposition A) in 2022, barring police from citing or arresting for misdemeanor marijuana possession. But Texas appellate courts blocked it and the Texas Supreme Court refused review in December 2025, so state law again controls in Austin.
Austin Prop A Marijuana Decrim Struck Down By Courts
Heavy RestrictionsAustin City Code Title 16, ch. 16-1, § 16-1-1 (Austin Freedom Act of 2021)
§ 16-1-1 ENDING CITATIONS AND ARRESTS FOR MISDEMEANOR POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA. (A) Austin police officers shall not issue citations or make arrests for Class A or Class B misdemeanor possession of marijuana offenses, except in the limited circumstances described in § 16-1-1(B). ... (C) In every instance other than those described in § 16-1-1(B), if an Austin police officer has probable cause to...
Public Alcohol Use
Austin bars drinking alcohol on public streets, sidewalks, and parks inside three mapped designated areas covering downtown, the Sixth Street district, the South Congress/South Lamar zone, and the West Campus stretch of Guadalupe. Outside those zones, Texas law lets pedestrians carry an open drink.
Austin Public Drinking Ban in Downtown Designated Areas
Some Restrictions§ 4-9-11 (Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages in Designated Areas Prohibited); penalty § 4-9-12(C)
(B) Except as provided in Subsection (C), a person may not consume an alcoholic beverage on a public street, sidewalk, or park located in a designated area defined in Section 4-9-1(B) (Definitions). (C) This section does not apply to: (1) an events authorized by Code Sections 8-3-5..., 14-6-3..., or Chapter 14-8...; (2) a participant in or spectator at organized athletic league play or practice...
Looking for Travis County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Austin city rules.
Public Conduct in Travis County →