2025 · Regular session · House bill
HB1902
HB1902 creates the offense of “jugging”: traveling along another person's route from a business or financial institution with intent to steal that person's money, while possessing at least two criminal instruments.
Official caption: Relating to creating the criminal offense of jugging.
Official report lists House author(s): Cook, Bonnen, Moody, Smithee, Louderback. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.
Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.
Bill highlights
Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.
- HB1902 creates the offense of “jugging”: traveling along another person's route from a business or financial institution with intent to steal that person's money, while possessing at least two criminal instruments.
- A criminal instrument has a specific meaning: something whose possession, manufacture or sale is not otherwise an offense, and which is specially designed, made or adapted for committing an offense.
- The offense is ordinarily a state jail felony.
- The ordinary statutory confinement ranges are 180 days–2 years for a state jail felony, 2–10 years for a third-degree felony, and 5–99 years or life for a first-degree felony.
- The act took effect September 1, 2025.
What does it do?
HB1902 creates the offense of “jugging”: traveling along another person’s route from a business or financial institution with intent to steal that person’s money, while possessing at least two criminal instruments. The law requires that the person knowingly travel the same path or route without substantially deviating from it. Merely following the same road, or being near someone leaving a bank, is not enough: the intent and instrument requirements also must be met. Final law, Section 1.
A criminal instrument has a specific meaning: something whose possession, manufacture or sale is not otherwise an offense, and which is specially designed, made or adapted for committing an offense. The requirement is not simply possession of any two ordinary objects. The financial-institution definition includes banks, savings institutions, credit unions and trust companies; the law also covers departure from a commercial business. The final text does not require proof that the targeted person was seen withdrawing money or that the theft was completed. Penal Code 16.01; Finance Code 201.101; final law.
The offense is ordinarily a state jail felony. It becomes a third-degree felony if the actor also commits burglary of a vehicle during the jugging offense, or a first-degree felony if the actor also commits robbery during it. Vehicle burglary requires unauthorized entry with intent to commit theft or a felony; robbery involves the specified injury, threat or fear of imminent injury or death in the course of theft. These enhancements are not triggered merely by standing near a car or possessing cash. Penal Code 30.04; Penal Code 29.01–29.04.
The ordinary statutory confinement ranges are 180 days–2 years for a state jail felony, 2–10 years for a third-degree felony, and 5–99 years or life for a first-degree felony. Each can also carry a fine up to $10,000. Other sentencing rules and enhancements may affect an individual case. Penal Code 12.32, 12.34 and 12.35.
The act took effect September 1, 2025. It expressly allows prosecution under this section, another applicable Penal Code section, or both when the same conduct fits more than one offense. That is the statute’s charging authorization, not a promise that every case permits cumulative punishments regardless of other law. Final law, Sections 1–2.
What changed along the way?
The introduced bill focused on targeting or observing someone withdrawing money from an ATM, bank, credit union or credit-services organization, then following that person or causing someone else to follow. It did not require two criminal instruments. Introduced text.
The House committee substitute replaced that formulation with the final same-route travel and two-criminal-instrument requirements, broadened the starting locations to commercial businesses and defined financial institutions, removed the proposed credit-services-organization definition, and added the express authorization for prosecution under either or both applicable sections. It retained first-degree punishment for jugging accompanied by robbery but removed the separate reference to aggravated robbery; aggravated robbery itself includes robbery under Penal Code 29.03. The substitute’s operative language survived unchanged through the House-passed, Senate committee and enrolled versions. House committee text; all versions; Penal Code 29.03.
The official amendment index reports no amendments. These changes were made through the committee substitute, not floor amendments. Amendment index; history.
For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.
Official bill versions
Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.
Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?
People carrying money from businesses or financial institutions may benefit from a more specific enforcement tool. Prosecutors gain a separate charge when all the elements can be proved. Defendants face felony exposure and potentially severe enhanced punishment; investigators must distinguish prohibited conduct from innocent travel and ordinary possession of objects. The legislative record does not establish a measured reduction in crime from this law.
The May 19, 2025 fiscal note says state and local correctional demands may increase, but the impact cannot be determined because data do not establish how often the newly defined conduct occurs. This is not a finding of zero cost, and the note gives no dollar forecast over two or five years.
The criminal-justice impact statement lists fiscal-year 2024 vehicle-burglary and robbery activity but explicitly says it is unknown how many of those incidents involved the new jugging elements. Those totals are background, not a forecast of new jugging prosecutions or prison admissions.
Official sources
- Bill history and latest recorded action
- Bill versions, analyses and fiscal notes
- Action history and votes
- Amendment index
Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.
