A new bill authored by State Rep. Leo Wilson in the Texas House seeks to strengthen enforcement of election laws by increasing the attorney general’s prosecutorial authority when local action is delayed, according to the Texas Legislature website.
The bill on Courts, Crimes, Criminal Procedure, and Elections category, introduced as HB 85 during the 89(1) legislative session on Monday, July 14, was formally listed with the short title: ’Relating to the duty of the attorney general to prosecute criminal offenses prescribed by the election laws of this state’.
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
In essence, this bill amends the Government Code and Election Code to grant the Texas attorney general the authority to prosecute criminal offenses under the state’s election laws if local prosecutors do not act within six months after a law enforcement agency submits a probable cause report. The bill requires law enforcement agencies to provide copies of such reports simultaneously to both local prosecutors and the attorney general. It empowers the attorney general to request information from local entities to aid in these prosecutions and allows the attorney general to appear before grand juries as needed. Additionally, the bill enables the attorney general to direct local prosecutors to prosecute or assist in such cases. These legal changes apply only to offenses committed on or after the act’s effective date, which is 91 days after the legislative session concludes.
Terri Leo-Wilson, a member of the House Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs, proposed another 79 bills during the 89(1) legislative session. She is also a member of the House Committee on S/C on State-Federal Relations and a member of the House Committee on Public Education.
Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.
You can read more about the bills and other measures here.
| Legislative Session | Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 89(1) | HB 83 | 07/14/2025 | Relating to the use by a political subdivision of public funds for lobbying and related activities |
| 89(1) | HB 34 | 07/14/2025 | Relating to the definition of “eligible school district” for purposes of the study of school district property values conducted by the comptroller of public accounts |
| 89(R) | HB 5597 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the definition of a Galveston County Port |
| 89(R) | HB 5596 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the calculation of the voter-approval tax rate for certain municipalities that receive municipal hotel occupancy tax revenue and other money from a local park board of trustees |
| 89(R) | HB 5589 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to a review and revision of the essential knowledge and skills of the science curriculum by the State Board of Education |
| 89(R) | HB 5587 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the deadline of a manual rate filing by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association |
| 89(R) | HB 5586 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to certain meetings of the board of directors of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association |
| 89(R) | HB 5251 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to excused absences from public school for certain students to attend mental health care appointments |
| 89(R) | HB 5100 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to instruction on adoption in the parenting and paternity awareness program in public schools |
| 89(R) | HB 5045 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the employment of and parental notification regarding classroom teachers in public schools |
| 89(R) | HB 4957 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the duty of the attorney general to prosecute criminal offenses prescribed by the election laws of this state |
| 89(R) | HB 4701 | 03/12/2025 | Relating to college entrance examinations considered for admission to certain public institutions of higher education |
| 89(R) | HB 4699 | 03/12/2025 | Relating to required independent school districts, home-rule school districts, and open-enrollment charter schools to comply with legally required policies |
| 89(R) | HB 4607 | 03/12/2025 | Relating to certain occupancy preferences given by developments supported with a low income housing tax credit allocation |
| 89(R) | HB 4606 | 03/12/2025 | Relating to interests in real property held or acquired by or on behalf of certain foreign individuals or entities and the authority of the attorney general to acquire the property by eminent domain; establishing the homeland security review committee; creating a criminal offense |
| 89(R) | HB 4605 | 03/12/2025 | Relating to the designation of routes for the movement of oversize and overweight vehicles in certain counties |
| 89(R) | HB 4440 | 03/11/2025 | Relating to the use of receipts from attendance credit purchased under the public school finance system |
| 89(R) | HB 4195 | 03/10/2025 | Relating to contracts with and the acceptance of money from certain foreign sources by public schools and public institutions of higher education; providing administrative penalties |
| 89(R) | HB 4194 | 03/10/2025 | Relating to the calculation of the no-new-revenue tax rate for a taxing unit |
| 89(R) | HB 4069 | 03/07/2025 | Relating to the threshold for competitive procurement requirements for counties |
| 89(R) | HB 4068 | 03/07/2025 | Relating to requiring a person to submit proof of citizenship to register to vote |
| 89(R) | HB 3685 | 03/04/2025 | Relating to notice of possible eligibility for a residence homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation provided to a home buyer by a title insurance company or title insurance agent in connection with the closing and settlement of a purchase of residential real property |
| 89(R) | HB 3254 | 02/24/2025 | Relating to the eligibility of members of the State Board of Education and their dependents to participate in the state employees group benefits program |
| 89(R) | HB 3101 | 02/20/2025 | Relating to the provision of accelerated and supplemental instruction for public school students and outcomes-based contracting with those providers |
| 89(R) | HB 3068 | 02/20/2025 | Relating to the consideration of an alternative assessment instrument score in undergraduate admissions at certain public institutions of higher education |
| 89(R) | HB 100 | 02/20/2025 | Relating to the purchase, adoption, and use of instructional materials by public schools |
| 89(R) | HB 2981 | 02/18/2025 | Relating to prohibiting contributions, expenditures, and related activities involving a specific-purpose committee for supporting or opposing a ballot measure; creating a criminal offense; providing a civil penalty |
| 89(R) | HB 2945 | 02/18/2025 | Relating to patient stay reports submitted by freestanding emergency medical care facilities |
| 89(R) | HB 2944 | 02/18/2025 | Relating to the designation of State Highway 87 as a hurricane evacuation route |
| 89(R) | HB 2866 | 02/14/2025 | Relating to public school accountability and actions and other proceedings challenging the operations of the public school system |
| 89(R) | HB 2628 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the purchase of or acquisition of title to real property by foreign organizations |
| 89(R) | HB 2410 | 02/04/2025 | Relating to granting charters to certain public and private institutions of higher education for open-enrollment charter schools |
| 89(R) | HB 2403 | 02/04/2025 | Relating to a prohibition on governmental contracts with Chinese companies for certain information and communications technology; authorizing a civil penalty |
| 89(R) | HB 2400 | 02/04/2025 | Relating to a prohibition on the use of artificial intelligence technology for classroom instruction |
| 89(R) | HB 2399 | 02/04/2025 | Relating to the requirements for certain court orders in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed by the Department of Family and Protective Services |
| 89(R) | HB 2387 | 02/04/2025 | Relating to the entitlement to benefits for chaplains employed by certain fire departments, police departments, and other law enforcement agencies |
| 89(R) | HB 2343 | 02/03/2025 | Relating to required notice regarding shrimp in restaurants and certain prohibitions on purchasing and serving imported shrimp |
| 89(R) | HB 2245 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to the verification of the citizenship status of registered voters |
| 89(R) | HB 2168 | 01/28/2025 | Relating to the Texas Commission on Federal Special Education Law and Funding |
| 89(R) | HB 2102 | 01/27/2025 | Relating to prohibiting discrimination and conduct motivated by antisemitism by public schools and institutions of higher education and providing antisemitism awareness training and instruction at those schools and institutions |
| 89(R) | HB 1929 | 01/16/2025 | Relating to the administration of an election for a member of a board of trustees of an independent school district |
| 89(R) | HB 1927 | 01/16/2025 | Relating to the instructional materials for certain curriculum in public schools, including certain instructional prohibitions and requirements regarding those materials |
| 89(R) | HB 1870 | 01/15/2025 | Relating to the accreditation of public institutions of higher education |
| 89(R) | HB 1868 | 01/15/2025 | Relating to a study on changes to performance tier funding for dual credit or dual enrollment courses under the public junior college state finance program and the capacity of the state’s workforce to teach dual credit or dual enrollment courses |
| 89(R) | HB 1802 | 01/09/2025 | Relating to voter registration; creating criminal offenses |
| 89(R) | HB 1774 | 01/08/2025 | Relating to repealing the affirmative defense to prosecution for the criminal offense of sale, distribution, or display of harmful material to a minor |
| 89(R) | HB 1645 | 12/17/2024 | Relating to a private civil cause of action against local entities and campus police departments that violate certain laws related to immigration enforcement |
| 89(R) | HB 1588 | 12/11/2024 | Relating to training requirements for certain public officials and candidates for public office |
| 89(R) | HB 1485 | 12/02/2024 | Relating to the repeal of or limitations on certain state and local taxes, including school district maintenance and operations ad valorem taxes, the enactment of state and local value added taxes, and related school finance reform; imposing taxes |
| 89(R) | HB 1484 | 12/02/2024 | Relating to the protection of students from sexual grooming |
