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2025 · Regular session · Senate bill
SB1079
SB1079 lets a county destroy certain retired data-storage devices to prevent accidental disclosure of protected information.
Official caption: Relating to the authority of a county to dispose of sensitive media devices.
Official report lists Senate author(s): West. 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.
- SB1079 lets a county destroy certain retired data-storage devices to prevent accidental disclosure of protected information.
- “Salvage” generally means property so worn, damaged or obsolete that it has no value for its original purpose. “Surplus” means still-useful property that is not needed now or for foreseeable needs; both definitions exclude items routinely discarded as waste.
- This is permission to dispose of a device, not blanket permission to erase records the county must keep.
- Signed May 29, 2025, the law took effect September 1, 2025.
What does it do?
SB1079 lets a county destroy certain retired data-storage devices to prevent accidental disclosure of protected information. The county commissioners court must determine that the county used the device to store data whose maintenance or disclosure is regulated by state or federal law. The device must also be salvage or surplus property, and the court must determine that destroying it is necessary to prevent inadvertent disclosure when it is disposed of. The law permits this action; it does not require destruction of every county computer or storage device. Final law, section 1.
“Salvage” generally means property so worn, damaged or obsolete that it has no value for its original purpose. “Surplus” means still-useful property that is not needed now or for foreseeable needs; both definitions exclude items routinely discarded as waste. These definitions limit which devices qualify; simply holding sensitive data is not enough. Local Government Code 263.151; Final law.
This is permission to dispose of a device, not blanket permission to erase records the county must keep. Separate records-destruction rules remain: for example, records covered by an unresolved public-information request cannot be destroyed, and records whose subject matter is known by their custodian to be in litigation must be kept until that litigation is settled. SB1079 does not amend those requirements. Local Government Code 202.001; Local Government Code 202.002; Final law.
Signed May 29, 2025, the law took effect September 1, 2025. Official history; Final law, section 2.
What changed along the way?
The new section 263.1521 provides a specific destruction route despite the ordinary disposal provision in section 263.152. Under the older section’s destruction-as-worthless route, the county had to try to sell the property and receive no bids. The new sensitive-device route instead turns on the device’s status and the court’s information-protection findings; it does not require that unsuccessful sale first. Other disposal options already existed, so this is not a claim that all county disposals previously required an auction. Local Government Code 263.152, subsection (a); Final law.
The introduced bill, Senate committee report, engrossed bill, House committee report and enrolled law have the same operative provisions. The official amendment index lists no amendments; there is no adopted floor change to attribute to an offerer. Introduced text; Text versions; Amendment index; Final law.
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?
Counties gain another way to dispose of qualifying equipment when the required findings support destruction. People whose regulated information was stored on those devices could benefit from reduced risk of accidental disclosure during disposal. That is the purpose of the authority, not a guarantee that every data breach will be prevented. Counties still must make the required determinations and comply with applicable records obligations. Final law; Local Government Code 202.001; Local Government Code 202.002.
The March 28 fiscal note anticipates no state fiscal implication and no significant local fiscal implication. It does not quantify destruction costs, forgone sale proceeds or avoided data-breach losses. The act provides authority, not a new appropriation or a promised dollar saving. Fiscal note; Final law.
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.