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

HB48

HB48 requires the Department of Public Safety to create a specialized unit to investigate oilfield theft and help local agencies prevent it.

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Official caption: Relating to the creation of an organized oilfield theft prevention unit within the Department of Public Safety.

Signed by governorSource-checked explanation published

Official report lists House author(s): Darby, Morales, Eddie, Craddick, Landgraf. 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.

HB48 requires the Department of Public Safety to create a specialized unit to investigate oilfield theft and help local agencies prevent it.
The unit may investigate and make arrests for the existing petroleum-product theft offense in Penal Code Section 31.19 and for ordinary theft under Section 31.03 when the stolen property includes oil-and-gas equipment.
DPS must establish a command structure and rules, subject to Public Safety Commission approval, for administration, equipment and facilities, training and working conditions.
The unit and DPS must provide specialized training, resources and policing strategies to local agencies; conduct public outreach to industry and communities; and maintain a centralized database of covered offenses and related criminal enterprises.

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What does it do?

HB48 requires the Department of Public Safety to create a specialized unit to investigate oilfield theft and help local agencies prevent it. The unit has statewide jurisdiction, but must mainly operate and have its headquarters in the DPS region that borders Mexico and includes El Paso. This is a regional requirement, not a requirement that headquarters be inside the city of El Paso. The bill was signed and took effect May 29, 2025. Final law; official history.

The unit may investigate and make arrests for the existing petroleum-product theft offense in Penal Code Section 31.19 and for ordinary theft under Section 31.03 when the stolen property includes oil-and-gas equipment. The equipment definition covers machinery, drilling and welding equipment, pipe, fittings, pumps, vehicles and other equipment used for wells, production or transporting petroleum products. HB48 creates an enforcement organization; it does not itself create a new theft offense or increase theft penalties. Final law, Sections 411.035–.036.

DPS must establish a command structure and rules, subject to Public Safety Commission approval, for administration, equipment and facilities, training and working conditions. As needed, the unit must coordinate with federal, state and local police, prosecutors, the Railroad Commission and theft victims. DPS may establish additional regional offices anywhere in Texas with commission approval. Statewide authority does not mean an office is required in every region. Final law, Sections 411.036–.037.

The unit and DPS must provide specialized training, resources and policing strategies to local agencies; conduct public outreach to industry and communities; and maintain a centralized database of covered offenses and related criminal enterprises. By January 1 of each odd-numbered year, DPS must report to state leaders and relevant legislative committees on the preceding two years, including arrests, resulting prosecutions and recovered assets, effectiveness and recommendations. Required implementation rules were due December 1, 2025. These are legal duties and deadlines, not a finding that all offices, systems or reports are already operating. Final law, Sections 411.038–.039 and bill Section 2.

What changed along the way?

The House committee substitute made two substantive changes to the filed bill: it changed the unit’s investigation-and-arrest provision from “shall” to “may,” and expressly allowed additional regional offices with commission approval. The mandate to create the unit remained. These changes survived enactment. Filed text; House substitute.

The official amendment index lists no floor amendments. Comparison of the House substitute, engrossed, Senate committee and enrolled versions shows no further substantive changes; there was no conference compromise. The House passed the bill April 24, 2025, 141–4 with two present but not voting; the Senate passed it May 19, 30–1. Those votes qualified it for immediate effect upon the governor’s signature. Amendment index; version index; enrolled certifications.

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?

Oilfield businesses and other theft victims may benefit from specialized investigators and better coordination across jurisdictions. Local police may gain training and shared information. Whether those changes reduce theft or recover enough property to offset costs must be assessed through actual results; the bill’s purpose is not proof of effectiveness.

The latest posted fiscal note estimates $2,331,866 in state general-revenue costs over fiscal 2026–27: $1,542,971 in 2026 and $788,895 in 2027. It assumes four additional positions—two special agents, a lieutenant and an administrative assistant—and forecasts $788,895 annually in 2028–30. DPS said the work could not be absorbed with existing resources. The note anticipates no significant local-government fiscal impact. HB48 itself appropriates no money, and these staffing figures are cost-estimate assumptions, not staffing levels fixed in the statute. Latest fiscal note.

The filed-bill estimate had been much larger: $7,695,359 over two years and 15 positions. The committee-substitute and engrossed estimates use four positions and the lower cost. That is a change in the fiscal estimate, not evidence that the state actually saved the difference or that the final law guarantees a particular budget. Introduced fiscal note; committee-substitute fiscal note.

Official sources

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