Conroe, TX Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

City Code § 46-7 states a person commits an offense if the person urinates or defecates in or on a public street, alley, sidewalk, yard, park, building, structure, plaza or utility right-of-way, or any other public place, or in public view anywhere. The ordinance was added by Ordinance No. 2240-15 in 2015 and amended by Ordinance No. 2465-19 in 2019, placing it in Chapter 46, Article I, the general offenses article that also covers firearm discharge, horseback riding on city streets and vehicle repair on public property.

The offense reaches conduct in public view even off a literal street or sidewalk, meaning private property visible to the public is not automatically exempt. The single affirmative defense written into the section is being in a restroom at the time, which shifts the burden to the defendant to raise and support that defense rather than requiring the city to disprove it. Because Chapter 46 falls under the Code's general penalty provision at § 1-13, and no specific fine is written into § 46-7 itself, a conviction carries the Code's default misdemeanor fine rather than a higher fire-safety, zoning or health-and-sanitation penalty.