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

SB296

SB296 lets one approved driving-safety or motorcycle-training course support dismissal of multiple eligible traffic charges from the same incident.

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Official caption: Relating to driving safety or motorcycle operator training course dismissal.

Became law without signatureSource-checked explanation published

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

SB296 lets one approved driving-safety or motorcycle-training course support dismissal of multiple eligible traffic charges from the same incident.
The new multiple-charge and reimbursement-fee rules apply to course requests made on or after September 1, 2025, even if the underlying offenses happened earlier.
The law also allows a written course request through a court-designated email address or online portal, but only if that court authorizes it.
Eligibility restrictions remain.

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What does it do?

SB296 lets one approved driving-safety or motorcycle-training course support dismissal of multiple eligible traffic charges from the same incident. Each charge must independently qualify, and the defendant must meet the other course-dismissal requirements. The old rule allowed only one charge per completed course. This is not a way to combine unrelated tickets or dismiss every offense. The bill became law without the governor’s signature May 28, 2025 and took effect September 1, 2025. Final law; Official history.

The new multiple-charge and reimbursement-fee rules apply to course requests made on or after September 1, 2025, even if the underlying offenses happened earlier. When the required course and documentation are completed, the court must remove the judgment and dismiss each eligible charge; merely enrolling does not dismiss a ticket.

The law also allows a written course request through a court-designated email address or online portal, but only if that court authorizes it. The request must arrive by the answer date on the notice to appear. The existing plea requirements remain, as do in-person/counsel and timely certified-mail options. Sending an ordinary email to an arbitrary address is not the new option. Request methods and dismissal conditions.

Eligibility restrictions remain. These include qualifying justice- or municipal-court motor-vehicle offenses, no current or offense-time commercial driver’s license, licensing or active-duty military-family conditions, proof of financial responsibility, and course-history requirements. The ordinary entitlement excludes speeding at 95 mph or more or at least 25 mph over the limit; other statutory exclusions also remain. The existing court-controlled process generally allows 90 days for course completion and documentation. SB296 does not erase those requirements or the separate discretionary provisions. Prior applicability rules; Other statutory exclusions; Completion process.

What changed along the way?

All five posted versions—introduced, Senate committee, engrossed, House committee and enrolled—have the same operative provisions. The differences are formatting and final certification, not changed eligibility rules. The amendment index lists no amendments, and both committees reported the bill without amendments. The Senate passed it April 10 and the House May 15, 2025. Version record; Amendment index.

The changes are narrow: authorize electronic requests when the court permits them, replace the one-charge-per-course restriction with the same-incident rule, require dismissal of each eligible charge after compliance, and allow a separate administration reimbursement fee for each eligible charge. The existing fee ceiling is $10 per charge, not a new statewide $10 total cap on all court or course costs. Enacted changes; Prior fee statute.

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 March 11, 2025 fiscal note—the only one listed in the official version index—anticipates no significant state or local fiscal impact and assumes state implementation costs can be absorbed with existing resources. It analyzes the introduced text, whose operative provisions survived unchanged. Fiscal note.

Eligible drivers may avoid needing separate courses for charges from one incident and may find authorized online requests easier. Courts still process eligibility and proof for each charge and may charge up to $10 per eligible offense in reimbursement fees, in addition to other authorized costs and fees. The law does not promise a free course, eliminate all costs, or guarantee dismissal without compliance.

Official sources

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