Just like in college, nothing makes you cram like deadlines! End-of-session deadlines are approaching, and lawmakers are cramming to get their work done in hopes of passing their bills and pushing priorities. And just like cramming in college, it requires all-nighters, obscene amounts of caffeine, working harder than all semester, and hoping for the best. Grades will be posted by the end of the month, and everyone is praying the dean doesn’t make them come back for summer school.
Time waits for no one or bill
Sine Die (the last day of session) is June 2, 2025. That is not much time for the almost 9,000 bills to become law. Time is the enemy of any bill right now as there are only 31 days left in session. The most urgent deadline right now is May 15, 2025, at 11:59:59 p.m., which is the moment that will end the journey of any House bill that has not been approved on second reading by the full House. That day is sometimes known as “Bloody Thursday” because an extraordinary number of bills die on that night. We are 13 days away from that fateful moment. After the dust settles from that bill slaughter, May 28, 2025, marks the last day for the Texas House to pass Senate bills. It is also the last day for the Senate to pass any bills. Here is a link to the full, not-confusing-at-all, end-of-session deadlines. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about them.
Bills sent to the governor
In Texas, bills passed by both chambers are sent to the governor for final review. If the governor receives a bill before the end of session, he has 10 days to decide whether to sign it, veto it, or let it become law without his signature. (There is no pocket veto in Texas like in the federal system.)
So far, 37 bills have made it to the governor’s desk. The first bill signed into law this session was SB 14 by King/Capriglione known as the Regulatory Reform and Efficiency Act (RREA), which is apparently how we spell “DOGE” in Texas. That was not a bill we were tracking, but tracked bills that are on their way to the governor for his consideration include: SB 487 (victim pseudonym expansion), SB 836 (victim privacy protections), SB 1499 (Financial Crimes Intelligence Center), and SB 1809 (fraudulent use/possession of gift cards).
If you have questions about the veto process or how to request a veto in an effective manner, contact Shannon or Hector for guidance.
Grand jury “reforms”
It wouldn’t be a legislative session without attempts to change how grand juries work, with the ultimate result of limiting their usefulness in investigations. This session the two primary bills on that front were just voted out of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. They are HB 3362 by Little and HB 3664 by Smithee. The latter is the omnibus grand jury “reform” bill for this session, while the former consists of two of those provisions (recording and pre-presentment discovery). For more detailed summaries, see our Week 9 update.
Those bills are now headed to the House Calendars Committee for further consideration behind closed doors; feel free to reach out to those committee members if these bills concern you.
ABCD bills
Who doesn’t love a weekly update of all the ways our legislature wants to task other officials with your constitutional duties? First a list of Anybody But Current DAs (ABCD) bills, then some context on one that was debated this week on the House floor.
HB 45 by Hull (OAG prosecution of human trafficking) was debated on the House floor, amended, and passed 78–62. (More below.) Now it heads to the Senate.
HB 933 by Spiller (SCOTX > CCA) passed the House Judiciary Committee (6–5 vote) and is pending in the House Calendars Committee. Its Senate companion is SB 1210 by Hughes, which passed the Senate and has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
HB 2309 by Villalobos (OAG forfeitures in human trafficking and other crimes) was heard in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee and left pending.
HB 5138 by Shaheen (OAG prosecution of election crimes) was voted out of the House State Affairs Committee (by an 8–7 margin) and is now pending in the House Calendars Committee. Its Senate companion is SB 1026 by Hughes, which was passed by the Senate 19–12 (one R in opposition) and will be referred to the House State Affairs Committee.
HB 5318 by Louderback (OAG prosecution of certain public order crimes) was heard in the House State Affairs Committee and left pending.
SB 16 by Hughes (OAG prosecution of new crime of illegal voter registration) was voted from the House Elections committee and is now pending in the House Calendars Committee.
SB 1367 by Hughes (SPA as statewide trial prosecutor) was voted out favorably from the Senate State Affairs Committee.
SB 1861 by Hughes (CCA appointment of special prosecutor) was voted favorably from the Senate State Affairs Committee.
SB 2743 by Hagenbuch (OAG prosecution of election crimes upon removal of local prosecutor) passed the Senate and has been referred to the House State Affairs Committee.
Despite lots of movement, the only significant floor debate over any of these bills happened this week when HB 45 (OAG prosecution of human trafficking) was passed by the House after being amended and debated. You can watch the fireworks here. After all was said and done, the votes fell almost completely along party lines. Only a handful of House Republicans were willing to buck Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is actively lobbying behind the scenes for this and other new powers, as AGs are wont to do in this state. Chalk that up as another nail in the coffin of “local control” and “limited government.” The 89th Texas Legislature is not your father’s Oldsmobile.
30-day report
Political campaigns must file campaign finance reports 30 days before an election date. The Lege is 30 days out from its scheduled end. Combine those two ideas like peanut butter and chocolate and what do you get? A 30-day report on random legislative topics that you might find interesting! Herewith follows a list of bills on these topics that are on the move (there are too many to link, but you can read them at https://www.capitol.state.tx.us/):
BAIL: HB 413 (max pretrial detention periods), SB 9 (Guv’s bail reform), SB 664 (magistrate qualifications and training), SB 1020 (notice of EM violations), SJR 1 (denial for illegal aliens), SJR 5 (denial for violent/sex crimes)
CIVIL ASSET FORFEITURE: HB 2309 (AG forfeitures in human trafficking, sex crimes, and Medicaid fraud), SB 1498 / HB 3110 (forfeiture of digital currency)
COURTS: SB 293 / HB 1761 (judicial pay and accountability), HB 2637 (grand jury impaneling), HB 4139 (courtroom telecasts), SB 1220 (reversal of Charette), SB 2878 / HB 5060 (omnibus judicial branch bill)
CPS: HB 116 (limiting involuntary terminations), HB 917 (elected prosecutors as ad litems), HB 1151 (limiting terminations for neglect), HB 2216 (limiting removals and terminations), HB 3281 (removing certain grounds for terminations), SB 2785 / HB 2665 (notification to prosecutor)
DRUGS: HB 46 (T-CUP expansion), HB 166 / SB 1234 (fentanyl presumption of danger), HB 463 (pretrial dismissal and expunction w/o lab report), HB 1644 (fentanyl strips), SB 3 (consumable THC ban/regulation), SB 1152 / HB 5467 (continuous mfr/del crime), SB 1505 (T-CUP expansion), SB 1868 (schedule/penalty group additions), SB 1870 / HB 5082 (local enforcement)
DWI: HB 1482 (no probation for DWI-3+), HB 1760 (intox manslaughter mandatory minimums), SB 745 (intox manslaughter penalty for multiple victims), SB 826 (DWI in school zone), SB 1660 (retention of toxicological evidence), SB 2320 (high BAC enhancement)
FAMILY VIOLENCE: HB 36 (GPS monitoring on bail), HB 2288 (defense to protective order), SB 1946 / HB 4155 (FV criminal homicide prevention task force), HB 4696 (remote participation in protective order hearing), SB 1021 (stalking as 3g offense), SB 2196 / HB 1194 (EPO duration)
That’s just seven of our 47 (!!) different bills tracks. Time permitting, we’ll provide more updates on other tracks next week.
Prosecutors in the Capitol Hallways
We are still seeing prosecutors trade courthouse hallways for Capitol hallways to fight the good fight. These are the prosecutors who were in Austin fighting for the bills they felt will assist them in administering justice. Chambers County District Attorney Cheryl Lieck testified in favor of SB 1723, which establishes the rapid DNA analysis pilot program. Tarrant County Assistant Criminal District Attorney Bill Vassar testified in favor of HB 3565, which would increase the penalty for interference with public duties. Dallas County Assistant Criminal District Attorney Rachel Burris testified in favor of SB 1021, which changes the eligibility for probation for someone convicted of stalking. Dallas County Assistant Criminal District Attorney Paige Williams testified in favor of HB 2046, which relates to expanding affirmative findings of family violence. She also testified in favor of SB 2373, which deals with financial exploitation using artificial intelligence. Montgomery County Assistant District Attorneys Amy Waddle and Laura Bond testified in favor HB 4254, which deals with the ability to appeal a mistrial order in a felony trial.Was someone from your office here this week that we missed? Be sure to let us know next time and we will be happy to give them a shout-out in a future newsletter!
Upcoming committee hearings
Please check our website for committee hearing updates!
Monday
House State Affairs: 8:00 a.m., JHR 120
SB 330 Huffman: Relating to an election to approve a reduction or reallocation of funding or resources for certain county prosecutors’ offices.
Senate State Affairs: 9:00 a.m., Senate Chamber
SB 1807 Zaffirini: Relating to the confidentiality of certain personal information of an applicant for or a person protected by a protective order.
Tuesday
House Criminal Jurisprudence: 8:00 a.m., E2.014
SB 535 Huffman: Relating to the admissibility of evidence regarding a victim’s past sexual behavior in prosecutions of certain trafficking, sexual, or assaultive offenses.
SB 664 Huffman: Relating to qualifications, training, removal, and supervision of certain masters, magistrates, referees, associate judges, and hearing officers.
SB 1019 Huffman: Relating to the admissibility of certain hearsay statements in the adjudication of certain sexual or assaultive offenses committed against a child or a person with a disability.
SB 1020 Huffman: Relating to personal bond offices and notification to a judge regarding tampering with an electronic monitoring device while released on bond or community supervision.
SB 1120 Hinojosa: Relating to rights of a victim, guardian of a victim, or close relative of a deceased victim in certain criminal cases involving family violence, sexual or assaultive offenses, stalking.
SB 1537 Zaffirini: Relating to the appointment of an interpreter in a criminal proceeding.
SB 1804 Alvarado: Relating to restitution and compensation paid to victims of certain offenses for tattoo removal related to the offense.
Wednesday
House Homeland, Public Safety, Veterans: 8:00 a.m., E2.016
SB 1101 Flores: Relating to the prosecution of the offense of smuggling of persons
Thursday
House Culture, Recreation, and Tourism: 9:00 a.m., E2.028
HCR 89 Hefner: Designating the cannon as the official state gun of Texas.
Quotes of the week
“What we did yesterday not only killed the misused and abused Local and Consent Calendar yesterday, but you won’t see another one for the rest of this Session and we’re not even close to being finished …. Burrows’ Leadership team has left us no other options than to burn it all down.”
—Representative Steve Toth (R-Conroe) in an X post explaining the state of the legislative session after a contingency of the most conservative House Republicans decided to block the Local and Consent Calendars from moving forward. The Local and Consent Calendars normally move large amounts of local and uncontested legislation without much opposition.
“The woman was slaughtered in Representative Jolanda Jones’s district in Harris County. Representative Jones needs to also support these tougher bail policies of seeking to make sure crimes, murders like this don’t happen in her district anymore.”
—Governor Greg Abbott advocating for bail reform and imploring Democrats to vote for the constitutional change. Constitutional amendments require 12 House Democrats to join all 88 Republicans to meet the two-thirds vote requirement.
“Law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges have spent years asking the legislature for real fixes for crime and reforms to the bail system in Texas, and House Democrats are ready to deliver. In 2025, we know how to stop crime before it happens and keep dangerous criminals off our streets. But Dan Patrick and Greg Abbott don’t actually want to fix crime — they want to run on it in their next elections.”
—Representative and Democrat Caucus Chair Gene Wu (D-Houston) explaining the Democrats’ willingness to negotiate on bail and criminal reforms in Texas.
“Well, for good reason, Representative Harrison, because when you lie, mislead, and deceive not only the fellow members of the House but the people of Texas, you deserve to be called out on it, and your microphone deserves to be cut off.”
—Representative Jeff Leach (R-Plano) admonishing Representative Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) after Harrison repeatedly looked at his cell phone while he was laying out his bill in the House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence.
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