SB826

Regular Session

Relating to the operation of a motor vehicle in a school crossing zone while intoxicated; increasing a criminal penalty.

ModeratePlan for compliance

Low Cost

Effective:2025-09-01

Enforcing Agencies

Texas Department of Public Safety • Local Law Enforcement Agencies • County and District Attorneys

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: September 1, 2025
Compliance Deadline: August 31, 2025 (All fleet policies and driver acknowledgments must be updated prior to enforcement).
Agency Rulemaking: No specific agency rulemaking is mandated; enforcement lies with local law enforcement and District Attorneys based on statutory text.

Immediate Action Plan

Issue an addendum to the Company Fleet Safety Manual regarding SB826 by July 1, 2025.
Require all drivers to sign a "Fitness to Drive" acknowledgement referencing the new felony classification by August 31, 2025.
Audit current telematics settings to ensure minute-by-minute data retention for route reconstruction.
Consult with insurance brokers to confirm if a State Jail Felony conviction triggers automatic policy exclusion for the driver.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Employment Agreements: Revise "Termination for Cause" clauses to explicitly include "arrest for a felony involving a motor vehicle" to bypass standard severance or warning procedures.
Vendor MSAs: Update Master Service Agreements to require subcontractors to certify that none of their deployed drivers have pending felony motor vehicle charges or convictions.

Hiring/Training

Driver Training: Update safety modules to explicitly communicate that school zone violations now carry a statutory punishment of 180 days to 2 years in state jail.
Vetting: Enhance pre-employment background checks. A candidate with a prior misdemeanor DWI is now a significantly higher risk; a second offense in a school zone could trigger felony liability for the employer.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Telematics Retention: Configure GPS/telematics systems to retain granular location and timestamp data indefinitely. In the event of an arrest, this data is the primary defense to prove a driver was outside the "active" school zone window or that the zone was not active at the time of transit.
Policy Acknowledgments: Secure signed acknowledgments from all drivers regarding the new law by Q3 2025.

Fees & Costs

Insurance Premiums: Anticipate immediate commercial auto insurance premium spikes or policy cancellation if a driver is charged with a State Jail Felony.
Legal Defense: Budget for increased legal defense retainers; defending a felony charge is significantly more expensive than a traffic misdemeanor.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

The statute hinges on the phrase "during the time the reduced speed limit applies." This creates evidentiary risks regarding conflicting signage (e.g., malfunctioning flashing lights vs. posted static times).

Risk: If school zone lights are broken but a static sign lists hours (e.g., 7:00-9:00 AM), the felony charge likely stands.
Guidance: Businesses must instruct drivers to treat *all* school zones as active regardless of flashing light status to avoid this legal gray area.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsCrimes Crimes--miscellaneous Criminal Procedure Criminal Procedure--sentencing & Punishment Vehicles & Traffic Vehicles & Traffic--dwi & Duid School Crossing Guards & Crossing Zones

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 826
89R8227 RDR-D	By: Parker
	Criminal Justice
	3/28/2025
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Driving while intoxicated (DWI) poses a significant danger to all road users, but the risk is even more severe in school zones, where children, parents, and school staff are particularly vulnerable. School zones are meant to be safe areas where young students can walk, bike, and be dropped off or picked up without the heightened threat of impaired drivers. Despite existing DWI laws, enhanced penalties for offenses committed in school zones are necessary to deter reckless behavior and reinforce the importance of protecting children. Strengthening penalties for DWI in school zones would serve as both a preventative measure and a means of holding offenders accountable for endangering the most vulnerable members of our communities.

S.B. 826 enhances a DWI that occurs in a school zone to a state jail felony.

As proposed, S.B. 826 amends current law relating to the operation of a motor vehicle in a school crossing zone while intoxicated and increases a criminal penalty.

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 49.04, Penal Code, by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (e), as follows:

(b) Creates an exception under Subsection (e).

(e) Provides that, if it is shown on the trial of an offense under Section 49.04 (Driving While Intoxicated) that at the time of the offense the person was operating the motor vehicle in a school crossing zone during the time the reduced speed limit applies to the zone, the offense is a state jail felony. Defines "school crossing zone."

SECTION 2. Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2025.

Senate Authors

Sen. Tan ParkerRepublican · Primary Author

Coauthors (1)

Jose Menendez (D)

House Sponsors

Rep. Mitch LittleRepublican · Primary Sponsor

Cosponsors (4)

Bill Text(with markup)

S.B. No. 826

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to the operation of a motor vehicle in a school crossing
	zone while intoxicated; increasing a criminal penalty.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 49.04, Penal Code, is amended by
	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
	follows:
	(b) Except as provided by Subsections (c), [~~and~~] (d), and
	(e) and Section 49.09, an offense under this section is a Class B
	misdemeanor, with a minimum term of confinement of 72 hours.
	(e) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
	section that at the time of the offense the person was operating the
	motor vehicle in a school crossing zone during the time the reduced
	speed limit applies to the zone, the offense is a state jail felony.
	In this subsection, "school crossing zone" has the meaning assigned
	by Section 541.302, Transportation Code.
	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 30, 2025

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

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	SB826 by Parker (Relating to the operation of a motor vehicle in a school crossing zone while intoxicated; increasing a criminal penalty.), As Introduced

Increasing the penalty for an existing criminal offense may result in increased demands upon state correctional resources due to a possible increase in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement. The impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources cannot be determined due to the lack of data to identify the number of cases that occurred in a school crossing zone.

The bill would enhance the penalty for driving while intoxicated from a Class B misdemeanor to a state jail felony if the actor was operating a motor vehicle in a school crossing zone during the time that the reduced speed limit was in effect.

Local Government Impact

While the fiscal impact cannot be determined, increasing the penalty for an existing offense may result in increased demands upon local correctional resources due to a possible increase in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement.

Source Agencies:

212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 405 Department of Public Safety

LBB Staff:

JMc, MGol, AMr

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about SB826

What does Texas SB826 do?

SB826 reclassifies Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) in an active school crossing zone from a Class B Misdemeanor to a State Jail Felony, effective September 1, 2025. This escalation significantly increases corporate liability exposure for fleets, necessitating immediate updates to driver vetting, insurance coverage, and "negligent entrustment" protocols to mitigate the risk of felony-level lawsuits. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Compliance Deadline: August 31, 2025 (All fleet policies and driver acknowledgments must be updated prior to enforcement).

Who authored SB826?

SB826 was authored by Texas Senator Tan Parker during the Regular Session.

When was SB826 signed into law?

SB826 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

Which agencies enforce SB826?

SB826 is enforced by Texas Department of Public Safety, Local Law Enforcement Agencies and County and District Attorneys.

How urgent is compliance with SB826?

The compliance urgency for SB826 is rated as "moderate". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of SB826?

The cost impact of SB826 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does SB826 address?

SB826 addresses topics including crimes, crimes--miscellaneous, criminal procedure, criminal procedure--sentencing & punishment and vehicles & traffic.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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