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HB 2927

AN ACT relating to increasing the criminal penalty for a peace officer who

House Bill
Filed

Filed

Bill introduced by legislator

Committee

Hearing

Passed Cmte

Calendar

Passed

Sent

Enrolled

Governor

Signed

89th Regular Session

Jan 14, 2025 - Jun 2, 2025 • Session ended

Awaiting Committee Assignment

Bill filed, pending referral to House committee

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Committee

Not yet assigned

Fiscal Note

Not available

What This Bill Does

Increases criminal penalties for peace officers who fail to report suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of elderly persons or people with disabilities. If a peace officer encounters such a situation and knowingly does not report it, they can now be charged with a state jail felony, which is a more serious offense than the previous Class A misdemeanor. The law specifically applies when the victim is a person with an intellectual disability residing in a state-supported living center or similar facility, and the officer knows serious bodily injury has occurred.

Subject Areas

Bill Text

relating to increasing the criminal penalty for a peace officer who
fails to report the suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an
elderly person or a person with a disability.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1.  Section 48.052(a), Human Resources Code, is
(a)  A person commits an offense if the person has cause to
believe that an elderly person or person with a disability has been
abused, neglected, or exploited or is in the state of abuse,
neglect, or exploitation and knowingly fails to report in
accordance with this chapter. An offense under this subsection is a
Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail felony
if it is shown on the trial of the offense that:
(1)  the abused, neglected, or exploited person is a
person with an intellectual disability who resided in a state
supported living center, the ICF-IID component of the Rio Grande
State Center, or a facility licensed under Chapter 252, Health and
Safety Code, and the actor knew that the person had suffered serious
bodily injury as a result of the abuse, neglect, or exploitation; or
(2)  the actor is a peace officer who encountered the
abused, neglected, or exploited person in the course of discharging
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
SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

Bill History

filed

Bill filed: AN ACT relating to increasing the criminal penalty for a peace officer who