Baytown, TX Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

Section 66-86 sets curfew hours at 11:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. the following day on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights, and 12:01 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings, applying to anyone under 17. Section 66-87 creates three distinct offenses: a minor commits one by remaining in a public place or on an establishment's premises during those hours; a parent or guardian commits one by knowingly permitting or, through insufficient control, allowing the minor to remain out; and the owner, operator, or an employee of an establishment commits one by knowingly allowing a minor to stay on the premises during curfew.

Section 66-88 lists nine defenses a minor can raise, including being accompanied by a parent or guardian, running an errand at a parent's direction without detour, traveling interstate, working or commuting to a job, responding to an emergency, standing on the sidewalk outside the minor's own home or a neighbor's home if that neighbor hasn't complained to police, attending a supervised school, religious, or recreational activity sponsored by the city or a civic group, exercising First Amendment rights, or having had the disabilities of minority removed through marriage under the Family Code. A separate defense protects an establishment's owner, operator, or employee who promptly notifies police that a minor on the premises refused to leave.

Section 66-89 requires a police officer to ask an apparent offender's age and reason for being out before taking any enforcement action, and bars a citation or arrest unless the officer reasonably believes an offense occurred and no defense applies.