(a) 
Purposes.
The purposes of this article are to:
(1) 
protect minors from criminal activity that occurs after the curfew hour;
(2) 
protect minors from improper influences that prevail after the curfew hour;
(3) 
protect the public from illegal acts of minors committed after the curfew hour; and,
(4) 
help parents, guardians, custodians, or other responsible persons, in carrying out their responsibility to exercise reasonable supervision of the children entrusted to their care.
(b) 
Findings.
Based on statistical information maintained by the city police department, the number of juveniles involved in crime and juveniles who are victims of crime represent a substantial threat to the health, safety and peace of the community which constitutes a compelling governmental interest for initiating this article.
(Ordinance 443, adopted 1/18/95, Article I)
For the purposes of this article, the following words, terms and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
Curfew Hours.
Means:
(1) 
11:00 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday until 6:00 a.m. the following day; and
(2) 
12:01 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. on any Saturday or Sunday; and,
(3) 
9:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. on any Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
Emergency.
Means an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action. The term includes, but is not limited to, a fire, a natural disaster, an automobile accident, or any situation requiring immediate action to prevent serious bodily injury or loss of life.
Establishment.
Means any privately owned place of business operated for a profit to which the public is invited, including but not limited to any place of amusement or entertainment.
Minor.
Shall mean any person under seventeen (17) years of age.
Operator.
Means any individual, firm, association, partnership, or corporation operating, managing or conducting any establishment, including the members or partners of an association or partnership and the officers of a corporation.
Parent.
Shall mean a person who is the natural parent, adoptive parent, or the step-parent of a person. As used herein, “parent” shall also include a court appointed guardian or other person twenty-one (21) years of age or older and authorized by the parent, by a court order, or by the court appointed guardian to have the care and custody of a person.
Premises.
Means the structure within which the establishment is housed.
Public Place.
Means any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and includes, but is not limited to, streets, highways, and the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment house, office buildings, transport facilities and shops.
(Ordinance 443, adopted 1/18/95, Article II)
(a) 
It shall be unlawful for any minor to intentionally or knowingly remain, walk, run, stand, drive or ride about in or upon any public place in the City of Atlanta, Texas, during curfew hours.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for the parent of a minor to knowingly permit, or by inefficient control to allow such minor to remain, walk, run, stand, drive or ride about, in or upon any public place in the City of Atlanta, Texas during curfew hours. The term “knowingly” includes knowledge which a parent should reasonably be expected to have concerning the whereabouts of a minor in that parent’s legal custody.
(c) 
It shall be unlawful for a person to induce, encourage or assist a minor to remain, walk, run, stand, drive or ride about, in or upon any public place in the City of Atlanta, Texas during curfew hours.
(d) 
It shall be unlawful for the owner, operator, or any employee of an establishment to knowingly allow a minor to enter or to remain upon the premises of the establishment during curfew hours.
(Ordinance 443, adopted 1/18/95, Article III)
(a) 
It is a defense to prosecution under Section 7.602 of this article that, at the time of the act that otherwise would constitute an offense:
(1) 
the minor was accompanied by his or her parent;
(2) 
the minor was accompanied by an adult twenty-one (21) years of age or older designated by his or her parent;
(3) 
the minor was on an errand made necessary by an emergency;
(4) 
the minor was attending a school, religious activity, or government sponsored activity, or going to or coming from a school, religious, or government sponsored activity:
(5) 
the minor was engaged in a lawful employment activity or volunteer work at a recognized charity institution, or going to or coming from such activity without detour or stop;
(6) 
the minor was attending an official school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the City of Atlanta, Texas, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor, or going to or returning home from, without any detour or stop, an official school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the City of Atlanta, Texas, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor;
(7) 
the minor was, with parental consent, in a motor vehicle engaged in interstate travel, beginning, ending or passing through Atlanta, Texas:
(8) 
the minor was on an errand at the direction of the minor’s parent, without any detour or stop;
(9) 
the minor was on the property or the sidewalk directly adjacent to the place where such minor resides or the place immediately adjacent thereto if the owner or occupant of the adjacent building does not communicate an objection to the minor and the police department;
(10) 
the minor was attending or traveling directly to or from an activity involving the exercise of First and Fourteenth Amendment rights protected by the United States Constitution, including, but not limited to the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, and the right of assembly;
(11) 
the minor was married or had been married or had disabilities of minority removed in accordance with Chapter 31 of the Texas Family Code;
(12) 
the minor was following the direction of a peace officer;
(13) 
with respect to the hours between 9:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. only, that the offense occurred during the school summer vacation break period of the school in which the minor is enrolled or on a holiday observed by the closure of classes in the school in which the minor is enrolled or that the minor has graduated from high school or received a high school equivalency certificate; or,
(14) 
in a prosecution under Section 7.603, the owner, operator or employee of the place of business promptly notified the police department that a minor was present on the premises of the business during the curfew hours and refused to leave.
(b) 
Each of the foregoing exceptions, and their several limitations, are severable, as hereinafter provided but reemphasized here.
(Ordinance 443, adopted 1/18/95, Article IV)
The provisions of this article are supplemental and shall be cumulative with all other laws and ordinances applicable in any manner to juveniles.
(Ordinance 443, adopted 1/18/95, Article V)
Before taking any enforcement action under this article, a police officer shall ask the apparent offender’s age and reason for being in the public place. The officer shall not issue a citation or make an arrest under this section unless the officer reasonably believes that an offense has occurred and that, based on any response and other circumstances, no defense in Section 7.603 is present.
(Ordinance 443, adopted 1/18/95, Article VI)
(a) 
A minor who violates section 7.602(a) of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), and may be subject to appropriate action by a juvenile court in accordance with sections 51.03 and 51.08 of the Texas Family Code and section 8.07 of the Texas Penal Code.
(b) 
A parent of a minor who violates section 7.603(b) of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200.00).
(c) 
A person who violates a provision of this article is guilty of a separate offense for each day or part of a day during the violation is committed, continued or permitted.
(d) 
In assessing punishment for either a parent or a minor, the municipal court judge may consider a community service or teen court program.
(Ordinance 2014-007 adopted 12/1/14)