BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 2917
	By: Miles
	Criminal Justice
	5/2/2025
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Dumping is a serious problem in inner city communities. Bad actor apartment complexes and junk hauling companies dump thousands of pounds of furniture, electronics, and trash along roadsides and in vacant lots.

These bad actors are emboldened because the current penalties in place in Section 365.012, Health and Safety Code, to address illegal dumping are not sufficient to deter this activity. These fines are low enough that they are simply the cost of doing business. They can be as low as $500 for dumping up to 500 lbs of trash.

Currently, fines are assessed by the weight of the dumped materials. S.B. 2917 aims to change that by creating a strict liability system for dumping penalties. A first offense under this legislation would incur a Class C misdemeanor and a fine not to exceed $2000.

A second consecutive offense is raised to a Class B misdemeanor and a fine not to exceed $5000. A third consecutive offense is raised to a Class A misdemeanor and a fine not to exceed $10,000. Any consecutive offense after that is automatically a Class A misdemeanor and the fine is increased $10,000 from the previous fine up to a limit of $50,000 per occurrence. If a person is convicted of an offense under this bill, they must also reimburse the county or municipality for the costs incurred in the cleanup of the material.

As proposed, S.B. 2917 amends current law relating to the penalties for certain littering offenses.

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 Sections 365.012(d), (e), (f), (h), and (s), Health and Safety Code, as follows:

(d)� Provides that an offense under Subsection (a) (relating to the offense of illegally dumping waste), (b) (relating to the offense of receiving waste for disposal in an unapproved site), or (c) (relating to the offense of transporting waste for disposal in an unapproved site) is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,000, except that the offense is:

(1)� a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $5,000 if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has previously been convicted one time of an offense under Subsection (a), (b), or (c) and the litter or solid waste to which the offense applies weighs five pounds or more or has a volume of five gallons or more;

(2)� a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $10,000 if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has previously been convicted two times of an offense under Subsection (a), (b), or (c) and the litter or solid waste to which the offense applies weighs five pounds or more or has a volume of five gallons or more; or

(3)� a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine equal to the amount of the fine for the preceding conviction plus $10,000 if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has previously been convicted more than two times of an offense under Subsection (a), (b), or (c) and the litter or solid waste to which the offense applies weighs five pounds or more or has a volume of five gallons or more.

Deletes existing text providing that an offense under Subsection (a), (b), or (c) is a Class C misdemeanor if the litter or other solid waste to which the offense applies weighs five pounds or less or has a volume of five gallons or less.

(e) Prohibits a fine under Subsection (d)(3) from exceeding $50,000. Deletes existing text providing that an offense under Subsection (a), (b), or (c) is a Class B misdemeanor if the litter or other solid waste to which the offense applies weighs more than five pounds but less than 500 pounds or has a volume of more than five gallons but less than 100 cubic feet.

(f)� Provides that an offense under Subsection (a-1) (relating to the offense of discarding lighted litter that results in a fire), rather than Section 365.012 (Illegal Dumping; Discarding Lighted Materials; Criminal Penalties), is a Class A misdemeanor if certain criteria are met.

(h) Makes conforming changes to this subsection.

(s) Requires the court, on conviction of an offense under this section, to require the defendant, in addition to any fine or other penalty, to:

(1) creates this subdivision from existing text and makes a nonsubstantive change; and

(2)� reimburse the county or municipality, as applicable, for any costs incurred in cleaning up the litter or other solid waste that is the subject of the offense.

SECTION 2.� Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3.� Effective date: September 1, 2025.