SB1637

Regular Session

Relating to the prosecution of the offense of deadly conduct.

LowStandard timeline

Low Cost

Effective:2025-09-01

Enforcing Agencies

Texas Criminal Courts • District Attorneys Offices

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: September 1, 2025
Compliance Deadline: August 15, 2025 (Target date for updating Use of Force protocols and vendor contracts)
Agency Rulemaking: None mandated. However, judicial interpretation of "actual discharge of official duties" regarding off-duty employment will likely evolve through case law rather than agency rules.

Immediate Action Plan

1. Audit Personnel: Segregate rosters into "Commissioned Peace Officers" vs. "Private Security" immediately.
2. Revise MSAs: Amend contracts with security vendors to clearly define "official duty" triggers for off-duty personnel.
3. Update Forms: Redraft internal incident response forms to capture the specific legal elements required by SB1637 (Official Duty + Reasonable Belief).
4. Deploy Body Cameras: If not already in use, deploy body-worn cameras for all commissioned staff to substantiate the "reasonable belief" standard.
5. Notify Counsel: Brief outside counsel on the new defense strategy for potential future liability claims.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Vendor Reclassification: Master Service Agreements (MSAs) must explicitly distinguish between "Security Services" (unsworn) and "Law Enforcement Services" (sworn).
Scope of Duty Clauses: Contracts for off-duty police must define the trigger point where a private contractor reverts to "official duty" status (e.g., witnessing a felony), as this status is the prerequisite for the statutory protection.
Indemnification: Update indemnification clauses to cover legal defense costs if an officer’s "reasonable belief" is challenged in court.

Hiring/Training

Training Updates: Update Use of Force modules for internal police forces. Curriculum must explicitly link Penal Code Chapter 9 (Justification) to the new exemptions in Section 22.05.
Personnel Audit: Verify current commission status of all armed personnel. Expired commissions void the protections of SB1637.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Incident Report Forms: Revise "Use of Force" and "Firearm Discharge" forms immediately. Add mandatory fields requiring the officer to articulate:
1. The specific official duty being performed at the moment of discharge.
2. The specific facts supporting the "reasonable belief" that force was necessary.
Time Logs: Maintain precise duty logs to differentiate between "on-clock private time" and "official police action."

Fees & Costs

Insurance Adjustments: No new state fees. However, entities should leverage this statute during renewal negotiations for Law Enforcement Liability (LEL) insurance, as the risk of criminal conviction (and subsequent civil liability) for officers is statutorily reduced.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

The "Moonlighting" Gap: The statute protects officers in the "actual discharge of official duties." It does not define when an off-duty officer working private security crosses the line from "private employee" to "discharging official duties."
*Risk:* A prosecutor may argue an officer involved in a shooting while working a private door-security job was acting as a private citizen, nullifying the defense.
"Reasonably Believed": This subjective standard is the only barrier to prosecution. Without objective evidence, this defense is weak.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsCrimes Crimes--against Persons Crimes--against Persons--general Fire Fighters & Police Fire Fighters & Police--general Peace Officers

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1637
89R8929 LHC-F	By: King
	Criminal Justice
	3/21/2025
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

A peace officer's primary duty is to protect and serve their community. This includes running towards danger and confronting individuals wishing to harm others or themselves. Recently, peace officers have been charged under the deadly conduct statute for actions taken in their regular course of duties.

Under the deadly conduct statute, an individual can be charged if they are recklessly placing another in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or knowingly discharging a firearm at or in the direction of a person, habitation, building or vehicle whether the habitation, building or vehicle is occupied or not. The original purpose of the deadly conduct statute was to combat rising gang violence which included dangerously and recklessly discharging a firearm. This statute was never intended to be used against a peace officer whose role is to enter life-threatening situations and use their firearm as a requirement of their work.

S.B. 1637 seeks to amend the deadly conduct statute to draw a clear distinction between a peace officer who is acting within their duty to uphold law and order and a criminal who carries a firearm to facilitate a criminal defense. This bill protects Texas peace officers from unnecessary and burdensome prosecution for performing acts justified under the course and scope of the duties of a law enforcement officer.

As proposed, S.B. 1637 amends current law relating to an exception to the application of the offense of deadly conduct for certain peace officers discharging official duties.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 22.05, Penal Code, by adding Subsection (f) to provide that it is an exception to the application of Section 22.05 (Deadly Conduct) that, at the time of the offense, the actor was engaged in the actual discharge of official duties as a peace officer, and the actor reasonably believed the actor's conduct was necessary or justified under Section 9.31 (Self-Defense), 9.32 (Deadly Force in Defense of Person), or 9.33 (Defense of Third Person).�

SECTION 2. Provides that the change in law made by this Act applies to conduct that occurs before, on, or after the effective date of this Act, except that a final conviction for an offense that exists on the effective date of this Act is unaffected by this Act.

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2025.

House Sponsors

Rep. Phil KingRepublican · Primary Sponsor

Joint Sponsors

Cole Hefner (R)

Bill Text(with markup)

S.B. No. 1637

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to the prosecution of the offense of deadly conduct.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 22.05, Penal Code, is amended by
	amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
	follows:
	(c) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection,
	recklessness [~~Recklessness~~] and danger are presumed if the actor
	knowingly pointed a firearm at or in the direction of another
	whether or not the actor believed the firearm to be loaded. The
	presumption under this subsection does not apply to a peace officer
	engaged in the lawful discharge of the officer's official duties.
	(f) Subsection (b)(1) does not apply to a peace officer if,
	at the time of the offense, the officer:
	(1) was engaged in the actual discharge of the
	officer's official duties; and
	(2) reasonably believed the discharge of the officer's
	firearm was justified under Chapter 9.
	SECTION 2. 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 occurred
	before that date.
	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


March 23, 2025

TO:	Honorable Pete Flores, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	SB1637 by King (Relating to an exception to the application of the offense of deadly conduct for certain peace officers discharging official duties.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would make an exception to the application of the offense of deadly conduct if the actor at the time of the offense was engaged in the actual discharge of official duties as a peace officer and if the actor reasonably believed the conduct was necessary for self-defense or defense of a third person. It is assumed that any fiscal impact and any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant.

Local Government Impact

It is assumed that any fiscal impact to units of local government associated with enforcement, prosecution, supervision, or confinement would not be significant.

Source Agencies:

212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 405 Department of Public Safety

LBB Staff:

JMc, MGol, DGI, QH

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about SB1637

What does Texas SB1637 do?

SB1637 creates a statutory defense for peace officers against "deadly conduct" charges, provided they are discharging official duties and reasonably believe the force is justified. This legislation requires private entities employing off-duty police or maintaining internal police departments to immediately distinguish legally and operationally between "commissioned peace officers" and standard "security guards," as the liability protections apply strictly to the former. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Compliance Deadline: August 15, 2025 (Target date for updating Use of Force protocols and vendor contracts) Agency Rulemaking: None mandated.

Who authored SB1637?

SB1637 was authored by Texas Senator Phil King during the Regular Session.

When was SB1637 signed into law?

SB1637 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

Which agencies enforce SB1637?

SB1637 is enforced by Texas Criminal Courts and District Attorneys Offices.

How urgent is compliance with SB1637?

The compliance urgency for SB1637 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of SB1637?

The cost impact of SB1637 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does SB1637 address?

SB1637 addresses topics including crimes, crimes--against persons, crimes--against persons--general, fire fighters & police and fire fighters & police--general.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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