Regular Session
Texas Department of Criminal Justice • Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles • State District Courts
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This bill's path through the Texas Legislature
BILL ANALYSIS |
| H.B. 1871 |
| By: Dyson |
| Criminal Jurisprudence |
| Committee Report (Unamended) |
| BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The bill author has informed the committee that under current law, the penalty for attempted capital murder of a peace officer is the same as aggravated assault of a peace officer and that this equivalent punishment structure persists even though the threshold of proof for aggravated assault prosecution is lower than that of attempted capital murder. H.B. 1871 seeks to address this issue by increasing the penalty for the attempted capital murder of a peace officer and by making an offender ineligible for parole or mandatory supervision.
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| CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill expressly does one or more of the following: creates a criminal offense, increases the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or changes the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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| RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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| ANALYSIS H.B. 1871 amends the Penal Code to increase the mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for attempted capital murder of a peace officer acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty who the actor knows is a peace officer from 5 years, as provided generally for first degree felonies, to 25 years. H.B. 1871 amends the Government Code to make an inmate serving a sentence for such a criminal attempt ineligible for release on parole and prohibits the release to mandatory supervision of such an inmate or an inmate who has been previously convicted of such a criminal attempt. H.B. 1871 applies only to an offense committed on or after the bill's effective date. An offense committed before that date is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For these purposes, an offense was committed before the bill's effective date if any element of the offense was committed before that date. |
| EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025. |
| H.B. No. 1871 | ||
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| relating to the punishment for the criminal offense of attempted | ||
| capital murder of a peace officer; increasing a criminal penalty; | ||
| changing eligibility for parole and mandatory supervision. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 15.01, Penal Code, is amended by | ||
| amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (e) to read as | ||
| follows: | ||
| (d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), an [ |
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| under this section is one category lower than the offense | ||
| attempted, and if the offense attempted is a state jail felony, the | ||
| offense is a Class A misdemeanor. | ||
| (e) If the offense attempted is capital murder of a peace | ||
| officer under Section 19.03(a)(1), the offense is a felony of the | ||
| first degree, punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of | ||
| Criminal Justice for life or for any term of not more than 99 years | ||
| or less than 25 years. | ||
| SECTION 2. Section 508.145(a), Government Code, is amended | ||
| to read as follows: | ||
| (a) An inmate is not eligible for release on parole if the | ||
| inmate is under sentence of death, serving a sentence of life | ||
| imprisonment without parole, or serving a sentence for any of the | ||
| following offenses under the Penal Code: | ||
| (1) Section 15.01, if the offense is punishable under | ||
| Subsection (e) of that section; | ||
| (2) Section 20A.03, if the offense is based partly or | ||
| wholly on conduct constituting an offense under Section | ||
| 20A.02(a)(5), (6), (7), or (8); | ||
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(3) [ |
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(4) [ |
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| under Subsection (f) of that section; or | ||
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(5) [ |
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| SECTION 3. Section 508.145(d)(1), Government Code, is | ||
| amended to read as follows: | ||
| (d)(1) This subsection applies only to an inmate who is | ||
| serving a sentence for: | ||
| (A) an offense described by Article 42A.054(a), | ||
| Code of Criminal Procedure, other than an offense under Section | ||
| 19.03, Penal Code, or an offense under Chapter 20A, Penal Code, that | ||
| is described by Subsection (a)(2) [ |
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| (B) an offense for which the judgment contains an | ||
| affirmative finding under Article 42A.054(c) or (d), Code of | ||
| Criminal Procedure; or | ||
| (C) an offense under Section 71.02 or 71.023, | ||
| Penal Code. | ||
| SECTION 4. Section 508.149(a), Government Code, is amended | ||
| to read as follows: | ||
| (a) An inmate may not be released to mandatory supervision | ||
| if the inmate is serving a sentence for or has been previously | ||
| convicted of: | ||
| (1) an offense for which the judgment contains an | ||
| affirmative finding under Article 42A.054(c) or (d), Code of | ||
| Criminal Procedure; | ||
| (2) a first degree felony or a second degree felony | ||
| under Section 19.02, Penal Code; | ||
| (3) a capital felony under Section 19.03, Penal Code; | ||
| (4) a first degree felony or a second degree felony | ||
| under Section 20.04, Penal Code; | ||
| (5) an offense under Section 21.11, Penal Code; | ||
| (6) a felony under Section 22.011, Penal Code; | ||
| (7) a first degree felony or a second degree felony | ||
| under Section 22.02, Penal Code; | ||
| (8) a first degree felony under Section 22.021, Penal | ||
| Code; | ||
| (9) a first degree felony under Section 22.04, Penal | ||
| Code; | ||
| (10) a first degree felony under Section 28.02, Penal | ||
| Code; | ||
| (11) a second degree felony under Section 29.02, Penal | ||
| Code; | ||
| (12) a first degree felony under Section 29.03, Penal | ||
| Code; | ||
| (13) a first degree felony under Section 30.02, Penal | ||
| Code; | ||
| (14) a felony for which the punishment is increased | ||
| under Section 481.134 or 481.140, Health and Safety Code; | ||
| (15) an offense under Section 43.25, Penal Code; | ||
| (16) an offense under Section 21.02, Penal Code; | ||
| (17) a first degree felony under Section 15.03, Penal | ||
| Code; | ||
| (18) an offense under Section 43.05, Penal Code; | ||
| (19) an offense under Section 20A.02, Penal Code; | ||
| (20) an offense under Section 20A.03, Penal Code; | ||
| (21) a first degree felony under Section 71.02 or | ||
| 71.023, Penal Code; | ||
| (22) an offense under Section 481.1123, Health and | ||
| Safety Code, punished under Subsection (d), (e), or (f) of that | ||
| section; | ||
| (23) a second degree felony under Section 22.01, Penal | ||
| Code; [ |
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| (24) an offense under Section 22.01, Penal Code, | ||
| punished under Subsection (b)(2), (7), or (8) of that section; or | ||
| (25) an offense under Section 15.01, Penal Code, | ||
| punished under Subsection (e) of that section. | ||
| SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies only | ||
| to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. | ||
| An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is | ||
| governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, | ||
| and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For | ||
| purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the | ||
| effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was | ||
| committed before that date. | ||
| SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. | ||
| TO: | Honorable John T. Smithee, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence |
| FROM: | Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB1871 by Dyson (Relating to the punishment for the criminal offense of attempted capital murder of a peace officer; increasing a criminal penalty; changing eligibility for parole and mandatory supervision.), As Introduced |
| Source Agencies: | 212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts |
| LBB Staff: | JMc, MGol, AMr |
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Common questions about HB1871
HB1871 immediately enhances criminal penalties and eliminates parole eligibility for the attempted capital murder of a peace officer. While primarily a criminal justice statute, this law directly impacts risk management and incident response protocols for members utilizing off-duty law enforcement for private security, retail loss prevention, or event management. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Immediate effect due to supermajority vote).
HB1871 was authored by Texas Representative Paul Dyson during the Regular Session.
HB1871 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.
HB1871 is enforced by Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and State District Courts.
The compliance urgency for HB1871 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.
The cost impact of HB1871 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.
HB1871 addresses topics including crimes, crimes--capital punishment, criminal procedure, criminal procedure--sentencing & punishment and law enforcement.
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