2025 Texas sessionsRegular and both called sessions have ended. This index covers House and Senate bills, not resolutions. Statuses come from official reports.

2025 · Regular session · House bill

HB2348

HB2348 allows either side in a criminal case to ask the court to order the prosecutor to take an elderly or disabled person’s deposition by video.

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Official caption: Relating to the video recording of a deposition taken of the testimony of certain elderly or disabled persons in a criminal case.

Signed by governorSource-checked explanation published

Official report lists House author(s): Capriglione. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.

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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.

HB2348 allows either side in a criminal case to ask the court to order the prosecutor to take an elderly or disabled person’s deposition by video.
The law expressly applies Article 39.12’s sworn showing to written or recorded depositions taken under Articles 39.02, 39.025 or 39.026 before they may be read or presented in court.
The changes apply only to criminal proceedings that begin on or after September 1, 2025.

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What does it do?

HB2348 allows either side in a criminal case to ask the court to order the prosecutor to take an elderly or disabled person’s deposition by video. The court may, rather than must, order video recording. For the recording to be admissible, its operator must be available to testify about its authenticity and how the deposition was taken. Under the existing article, “elderly” means 65 or older, and “disabled” uses the Americans with Disabilities Act definition. Final law, Section 1; Code of Criminal Procedure 39.025.

The law expressly applies Article 39.12’s sworn showing to written or recorded depositions taken under Articles 39.02, 39.025 or 39.026 before they may be read or presented in court. The retained grounds include a witness living or moving outside Texas, dying after the deposition, being prevented from attending through specified interference, or being unable to attend because of age or bodily infirmity. There is also an existing ground for a Medicare or Medicaid recipient, caregiver or guardian when the account was charged for a product or service not provided. A credible person may make the oath for the prosecution; the defendant must personally make it when using the deposition. Video format alone does not make testimony automatically admissible. Final law, Section 2.

The changes apply only to criminal proceedings that begin on or after September 1, 2025. Proceedings begun earlier remain under former law. That transition is based on when the proceeding starts, not merely the date the deposition is recorded. Final law, Sections 3–4; official history.

What changed along the way?

The introduced bill referred to depositions described by Article 39.01. The House committee substitute instead specified Articles 39.02, 39.025 and 39.026. That committee change survives in the final law. Introduced text; House committee text; final law.

The one indexed floor amendment, offered by Cook and adopted May 13, removed proposed subsection 39.025(b-2). That proposal would have expressly let a court admit an entire authenticated video without requiring the jury to watch all of it if doing so would unnecessarily prolong trial. Its removal survived in the engrossed, Senate committee and enrolled texts. HB2348 therefore does not enact that proposed shortcut for Article 39.025. It does not repeal the separate existing rule for qualifying Medicare/Medicaid depositions in Article 39.026(d), nor does this explanation decide what other evidence rules may permit. The later three bill versions otherwise match substantively. Amendment text; amendment disposition; text versions; existing Article 39.026.

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?

Video can preserve a witness’s testimony and demeanor when later attendance becomes difficult. Either side can request the format, but the prosecutor takes the court-ordered deposition and the recording operator must remain available to authenticate it. Courts and parties may incur recording and preparation costs. The act does not eliminate the existing procedural protections for a defendant’s presence, decide guilt or guarantee admission of a recording in a particular case. Final law; existing deposition safeguards.

The Legislative Budget Board’s May 21, 2025 engrossed fiscal note anticipates no significant state or local-government fiscal implication and assumes costs can be absorbed using existing resources. The April 14 introduced and April 25 House-substitute notes agree. The two criminal-justice impact statements anticipate no significant correctional-population or resource effect. No source provides a dollar estimate of recording costs or savings per case. Engrossed fiscal note; introduced fiscal note; House fiscal note; introduced impact statement; House impact statement.

Official sources

Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.