BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 2580

By: Hancock

Criminal Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Under current state law, a sheriff's department of a county with a population of 3.3 million or more is classified as a "designated law enforcement office or agency" for purposes of statutory provisions governing the installation and use of tracking equipment and access to certain communications. The bill sponsor has informed the committee that this high population threshold significantly limits the number of sheriff's departments in Texas that are authorized to use certain investigative tools, such as tracking equipment, and that have access to the information that can be gathered with those tools. The bill sponsor has also informed the committee that, as a result of this high population threshold, most counties in Texas—regardless of crime trends or investigative needs—do not have access to these enhanced capabilities. S.B. 2580 seeks to ensure that sheriff's departments in growing urban and suburban areas are not excluded from using modern investigative tools essential to public safety and criminal investigations and to allow more counties in Texas to adequately address evolving law enforcement challenges by lowering the minimum population threshold of an applicable county from 3.3 million to 500,000.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 2580 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to lower from 3.3 million to 500,000 the minimum population threshold of a county required for classification of a county's sheriff's department as a "designated law enforcement office or agency" for purposes of statutory provisions governing the installation and use of tracking equipment and access to certain communications.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.