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

SB384

SB384 adds an optional donation to Operation Game Thief when applying for a Texas hunting or fishing license.

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Official caption: Relating to making a donation to the operation game thief fund when applying for a hunting or fishing license.

Signed by governorSource-checked explanation published

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

SB384 adds an optional donation to Operation Game Thief when applying for a Texas hunting or fishing license.
The Parks and Wildlife Department must put a place for that choice on the first page of each license application and offer the same donation amounts on its website.
The existing fund supports authorized rewards, death benefits, program promotion, fund maintenance and technology used to help apprehend and prosecute specified resource/public-safety violations.

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What does it do?

SB384 adds an optional donation to Operation Game Thief when applying for a Texas hunting or fishing license. Applicants for any type of license, including a combined hunting-and-fishing license, may donate $1, $5, $10 or $20. This is a voluntary contribution, not a mandatory license-fee increase. Final law.

The Parks and Wildlife Department must put a place for that choice on the first page of each license application and offer the same donation amounts on its website. Donations must be deposited in the Operation Game Thief fund no later than the 14th day of each month. Before depositing the money, the department may deduct reasonable development and administration expenses, capped at three percent of the amount deposited. That is the statute’s wording—not a general promise that exactly three percent of every gift will be charged.

The existing fund supports authorized rewards, death benefits, program promotion, fund maintenance and technology used to help apprehend and prosecute specified resource/public-safety violations. SB384 creates another collection opportunity; it does not create the fund or guarantee a reward for every tip. The bill was signed May 15, 2025 and took effect September 1, 2025. Existing fund and allowed uses; Existing reward conditions; Official history.

What changed along the way?

The original bill already provided the four donation amounts, application/website options and monthly deposits. Its expense deduction had no numerical ceiling. Senator Birdwell offered the sole indexed floor amendment, adding the three-percent-of-the-amount-deposited cap. It was adopted March 12 and remains in the final law. Introduced bill; Amendment index; Birdwell amendment.

The Senate committee text otherwise matched the introduced bill; the engrossed, House committee and enrolled versions retain the adopted cap without further substantive changes. The House passed the bill April 30. Previously the department could establish voluntary-donation procedures; the new provision specifically requires the license-application and website choices. All text versions; Prior voluntary-donation authority.

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?

Both the February 21 and April 24, 2025 fiscal notes anticipate no significant state or local fiscal impact and assume implementation costs can be absorbed with existing resources. Revenue depends on the number and size of voluntary donations; neither note promises a fundraising amount. Introduced fiscal note; Engrossed fiscal note.

The fund may gain a convenient source of donations, while applicants can decline to contribute. The department must administer the choices and deposits, and its permitted expense deduction reduces the amount available for the fund’s purposes. Existing rules still limit reward/death-benefit payments to available fund money; SB384 supplies no guaranteed state appropriation. Existing payment limits.

Official sources

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