BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1220
	By: Hughes
	State Affairs
	6/6/2025
	Enrolled

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

The purpose of this bill is to overturn Ex Parte Charette, 2024 WL 4260409 (Tex. Crim. App. Sept. 18, 2024). In Charette, the court held that the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) has exclusive jurisdiction under Chapter 571 of the Texas Government Code to investigate and determine violations of the Election Code before criminal prosecution can proceed. Based upon this announced legal principle, the court dismissed the criminal case against Charette because no TEC proceeding had occurred.

This bill adds Section 23.002 to the Government Code clarifying that subject matter jurisdiction in criminal trial courts is not conditioned on the exhaustion of civil remedies.  

S.B. 1220 amends current law relating to the subject matter jurisdiction of the criminal trial courts of this state.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 23, Government Code, by adding Section 23.002, as follows:

Sec. 23.002. SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION OF CRIMINAL TRIAL COURTS NOT CONDITIONED ON EXHAUSTION OF CIVIL REMEDIES. Provides that the exhaustion of civil, including administrative, remedies, unless expressly provided otherwise, is not a prerequisite to the vesting in a trial court of subject matter jurisdiction over a criminal action for which the trial court would otherwise have jurisdiction under other law.

SECTION 2. Provides that this Act applies to a criminal action commenced before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 3. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2025.