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 · Senate bill

SB1220

SB1220 says that a criminal trial court normally does not have to wait for civil or administrative remedies to be exhausted before it has authority to hear a criminal case. “Exhaustion” means completing the available civil or age…

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Official caption: Relating to the subject matter jurisdiction of the criminal trial courts of this state.

Signed by governorSource-checked explanation published

Official report lists Senate author(s): Hughes. 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.

SB1220 says that a criminal trial court normally does not have to wait for civil or administrative remedies to be exhausted before it has authority to hear a criminal case. “Exhaustion” means completing the available civil or agency process; “subject matter jurisdiction” means the court’s legal authority over that kind of case.
The act was signed and took effect June 20, 2025.
The act does not create a new crime, change a punishment range, establish guilt, or give every trial court authority over every criminal case.

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What does it do?

SB1220 says that a criminal trial court normally does not have to wait for civil or administrative remedies to be exhausted before it has authority to hear a criminal case. “Exhaustion” means completing the available civil or agency process; “subject matter jurisdiction” means the court’s legal authority over that kind of case. The rule has two important limits: another law may expressly provide otherwise, and the court must already have jurisdiction under other law. Final law, new Government Code 23.002.

The act was signed and took effect June 20, 2025. It expressly applies to criminal actions begun before, on or after that date, not just newly filed cases. The enrolled votes—26–4 in the Senate and 127–10 in the House—met the immediate-effect condition. Final law, sections 2–3 and vote certifications; Official history.

The act does not create a new crime, change a punishment range, establish guilt, or give every trial court authority over every criminal case. Its narrow rule concerns whether unfinished civil or administrative remedies prevent jurisdiction from attaching when the court otherwise has it. Nor does it say that civil remedies themselves disappear. Final law.

What changed along the way?

SB1220 adds an express general rule to Government Code Chapter 23. It does not amend a particular agency’s procedure or name a particular prosecution. The “unless expressly provided otherwise” exception is part of the enacted rule, so the bill should not be summarized as abolishing every exhaustion requirement. Its application to already-started actions is explicit. Final law.

The introduced, Senate committee, Senate-passed, House committee and enrolled versions have identical substantive provisions. The history records both committees reporting without amendments, and the official amendment index lists no amendments. There is no earlier, broader floor proposal being described as law here. Five text versions; Amendment index.

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?

The rule may reduce jurisdiction disputes or delays based solely on unfinished civil or agency proceedings. Prosecutors, defendants and courts must still address express exceptions and other jurisdiction requirements. The act alone does not establish how any individual dispute should be resolved, and this review does not claim a measured reduction in case times or examine later court decisions applying it. Final law.

The March 5 introduced-bill fiscal note and May 8 Senate-passed-bill fiscal note both anticipate no significant state or local fiscal impact, assuming associated costs can be absorbed with existing resources. They do not quantify litigation savings or defendants’ costs. The act makes no new appropriation. Introduced fiscal note; Senate-passed fiscal note.

Official sources

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