HB45

HB45 creates a procedure directing the Texas attorney general to prosecute certain human-trafficking cases when the local prosecutor has not acted after 180 days. It changes who may prosecute, not the elements or penalties of the trafficking offenses. Signed June 20, 2025, it took effect September 1, 2025. Its changes apply only to offenses committed on or after that date; if any element occurred earlier, prior law applies. Final law; official history.

The procedure covers offenses under Penal Code Chapter 20A, including trafficking of persons and continuous trafficking. When a law-enforcement agency sends a local prosecutor a report identifying a person and stating probable cause for such an offense, it must simultaneously send the attorney general a copy. A report or probable-cause finding is not a finding of guilt. The statute directs the attorney general to represent the state when that report has been submitted, 180 days have elapsed, and the local prosecutor has not taken “prosecutorial action to prosecute the offense.” HB45 does not define that phrase as a simple checklist or say that every investigation must end in charges. Final law, Sections 2–3.

If a prosecution is already pending and those conditions are satisfied, the attorney general must file a notice of appearance and give the local prosecutor a copy. Otherwise, the attorney general must notify the local prosecutor of the intent to represent the state. The local prosecutor may object in the court where the prosecution is pending. A hearing is required within 30 days after that motion is filed. The court must decide whether the local prosecutor has taken prosecutorial action; if not, the statute requires an order placing the attorney general in the prosecution. The local prosecutor’s objection is not itself a veto. Final law, Section 2.

The law allows an appeal from an order granting or denying that objection before the case is finished. Section 51.014(b)’s existing rule stays the start of trial during an appeal under subsection (a), with stated exceptions; the new trafficking provision is not among the categories that automatically stay all other proceedings. HB45 does not create a blanket pause of every investigation or court activity. Final law, Section 1; Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 51.014.

The mandatory initial report copy is different from later requests for nonpublic investigative information. For those later requests, the attorney general must already be representing the state under the new prosecution provision, or the local prosecutor must agree to provide the information. Final law, Section 2.

Constitutional limits remain important. In *State v. Stephens*, the Court of Criminal Appeals struck down a different statute authorizing independent attorney-general prosecution of election crimes. It held that local criminal prosecution belongs to the judicial branch and that attorney-general assistance ordinarily requires the local prosecutor’s request and consent. HB45 uses a trafficking-specific waiting period, notices, objections and mandatory wording, but those differences are not a court ruling that HB45 satisfies the Constitution. This explanation describes the enacted procedure; it does not declare HB45 either upheld or struck down. Stephens majority opinion; case docket, including rehearing denial; Texas Constitution, Article II, Section 1, Article IV, Section 22, and Article V, Section 21.