SB739

Regular Session

Relating to the definition of authorized peace officer for purposes of certain laws governing the installation and use of tracking equipment and access to certain communications.

ModeratePlan for compliance

Low Cost

Effective:2025-09-01

Enforcing Agencies

Texas Department of Insurance (Fraud Unit)

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: September 1, 2025
Compliance Deadline: September 1, 2025. All internal "Law Enforcement Request" playbooks must be updated prior to this date to prevent improper rejection of valid TDI warrants.
Agency Rulemaking: No public rulemaking is required for the statute to take effect. TDI will update internal investigative Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) immediately. Expect active utilization of these powers on Day 1.

Immediate Action Plan

Update Protocols: Immediately revise your Law Enforcement Response Guide to list TDI as an "Authorized Peace Officer" entity for Article 18B warrants.
Brief IT Security: Notify your Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) that TDI now has the authority to demand location history and communication logs; establish a secure channel for data transfer.
Review Insurance: Verify your Cyber Liability and Directors & Officers (D&O) policies cover defense costs for regulatory investigations involving criminal procedure, not just administrative code violations.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Vendor Agreements: Update Master Services Agreements (MSAs) with data storage, telematics, and cloud providers. Require them to notify your General Counsel immediately upon receiving a TDI warrant regarding your assets or data, unless prohibited by a non-disclosure order.
Privacy Policies: Review consumer-facing privacy policies. Ensure the definition of "law enforcement" for data sharing purposes is broad enough to include state regulatory agencies exercising criminal procedure authority.

Hiring/Training

Intake Staff Training: Train legal compliance and front-desk staff to validate TDI investigator credentials (badges/commissions) for surveillance warrants. Staff must be instructed that a TDI request for GPS or communication logs is now a criminal procedure matter, not just a regulatory audit.
SIU Coordination: Insurance carriers must retrain Special Investigative Units (SIU) on new collaboration protocols, as TDI can now independently secure warrants for geofencing or vehicle tracking without local police sponsorship.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Warrant Retention: Establish a specific retention schedule for Article 18B warrants served by TDI. These records are critical for defending against future privacy litigation.
Non-Disclosure Flags: Update customer relationship management (CRM) systems to handle "gag orders." You must ensure automated customer notifications (e.g., "Data Access Alert") are disabled for accounts under TDI surveillance to avoid obstruction of justice charges.

Fees & Costs

Legal Defense: No new statutory fees. However, anticipate a potential increase in legal spend related to reviewing and processing a higher volume of complex warrants from TDI.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

Scope of "Tracking": The statute authorizes "tracking equipment" generally. It is currently unclear if TDI interprets this strictly as physical GPS trackers on vehicles, or if they will attempt to utilize digital tracking tools (e.g., cell site simulators or "Stingrays").
Real-Time vs. Stored Data: While the law grants access to communications, it is ambiguous whether TDI possesses the technical infrastructure for real-time interception (pen registers) or if they will rely primarily on warrants for historical stored data.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsCity Government City Government--employees/officers County Government County Government--employees/officers Crimes Crimes--miscellaneous Criminal Procedure Criminal Procedure--general Electronic Information Systems Insurance Insurance--general Law Enforcement Occupational Regulation Occupational Regulation--other Trades & Professions Peace Officers Insurance, Commissioner of

Official Analysis

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BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 739
89R5903 JCG-D	By: Kolkhorst
	Criminal Justice
	4/17/2025
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

In the modern world, most fraud unit investigations involve suspect electronic communications. As it stands, the fraud investigation units at the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) do not have the statutory authority to access these electronic communications. While they are defined in state law as peace officers (Section 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure), they are not included in 18B.001, which relates to installing and using tracking equipment and access to communications. Without this authority, investigators must rely on other agencies' peace officers to help with their investigations, hindering speed and efficiency for all stakeholders. Therefore, S.B. 739 adds these investigators into the necessary portion of code.

As proposed, S.B. 739 amends current law relating to the definition of authorized peace officer for purposes of certain laws governing the installation and use of tracking equipment and access to certain communications.

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. Reenacts Article 18B.001(1), Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by Chapters 901 (H.B. 4906) and 950 (S.B. 1727), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, and amends it, as follows:

(1) Provides that "authorized peace officer" means:

(A)-(K) makes no changes to these paragraphs;

(L) creates this paragraph from existing text and makes nonsubstantive changes; or

(M) an investigator commissioned by the commissioner of insurance under Section 701.104 (Department Investigators), Insurance Code.

SECTION 2. Provides that, to the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails over another Act of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted codes.

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2025.

Senate Authors

Sen. Lois KolkhorstRepublican · Primary Author

House Sponsor

Rep. Salman BhojaniDemocrat · Primary Sponsor

Bill Text(with markup)

S.B. No. 739

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to the definition of authorized peace officer for purposes
	of certain laws governing the installation and use of tracking
	equipment and access to certain communications.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Article 18B.001(1), Code of Criminal Procedure,
	as amended by Chapters 901 (H.B. 4906) and 950 (S.B. 1727), Acts of
	the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, is reenacted and
	amended to read as follows:
	(1) "Authorized peace officer" means:
	(A) a sheriff or deputy sheriff;
	(B) a constable or deputy constable;
	(C) a marshal or police officer of a
	municipality;
	(D) a ranger or officer commissioned by the
	Public Safety Commission or the director of the department;
	(E) an investigator of a prosecutor's office;
	(F) a law enforcement agent of the Texas
	Alcoholic Beverage Commission;
	(G) a law enforcement officer commissioned by the
	Parks and Wildlife Commission;
	(H) an enforcement officer appointed by the
	inspector general of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice under
	Section 493.019, Government Code;
	(I) a law enforcement officer appointed by the
	inspector general of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department under
	Section 242.102, Human Resources Code;
	(J) an investigator commissioned by the attorney
	general under Section 402.009, Government Code;
	(K) a member of an arson investigating unit
	commissioned by a municipality, a county, or the state;
	(L) [~~or (K)~~] a peace officer commissioned under
	Section 37.081 or 51.203, Education Code; or
	(M) an investigator commissioned by the
	commissioner of insurance under Section 701.104, Insurance Code.
	SECTION 2. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
	over another Act of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025,
	relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
	codes.
	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


April 18, 2025

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

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	SB739 by Kolkhorst (Relating to the definition of authorized peace officer for purposes of certain laws governing the installation and use of tracking equipment and access to certain communications.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

It is assumed that any costs associated with the bill could be absorbed using existing resources.

Local Government Impact

No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

454 Department of Insurance

LBB Staff:

JMc, MGol, BFa

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about SB739

What does Texas SB739 do?

Effective September 1, 2025, SB739 grants Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) investigators full statutory authority to execute warrants for electronic tracking and communication interception—powers previously reserved for traditional police agencies. Telecom providers, insurance carriers, and businesses holding consumer data must immediately update law enforcement response protocols to recognize TDI warrants as valid judicial orders for surveillance data. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Compliance Deadline: September 1, 2025.

Who authored SB739?

SB739 was authored by Texas Senator Lois Kolkhorst during the Regular Session.

When was SB739 signed into law?

SB739 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

Which agencies enforce SB739?

SB739 is enforced by Texas Department of Insurance (Fraud Unit).

How urgent is compliance with SB739?

The compliance urgency for SB739 is rated as "moderate". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of SB739?

The cost impact of SB739 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does SB739 address?

SB739 addresses topics including city government, city government--employees/officers, county government, county government--employees/officers and crimes.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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