Rep. Harold Dutton Jr. introduced HB 2681, a bill on Crimes and Criminal Procedure, to the Texas House on Tuesday, Feb. 11 during the 89(R) legislative session, according to the Texas Legislature website.
More specifically, the official text was summarized by the state legislature as ’’relating to the penalty for certain offenders for possession of a small amount of certain controlled substances’’.
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
The bill revises penalties for possession of small amounts of certain controlled substances under Texas law. It categorizes possession of less than one gram of substances in Penalty Group 1 as a Class A misdemeanor, but elevates it to a state jail felony if the individual has prior convictions under specified sections. The bill introduces a state jail felony for possession of less than one gram of substances in Penalty Group 1-B. It allows a defense to prosecution if the individual requested emergency medical assistance in an overdose situation, but outlines specific conditions under which this defense is unavailable. Additionally, judges may mandate an educational program on substance abuse as part of community supervision. These changes apply to offenses committed on or after Sept. 1, 2025.
Harold Dutton Jr., the chair of the House Committee on S/C on Family & Fiduciary Relationships, proposed another 31 bills during the 89(R) legislative session. He is also a member of the House Committee on Public Education, a member of the House Committee on S/C on Academic & Career-Oriented Education, and a member of the House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence.
Dutton graduated from Texas Southern University in 1991 with a BBA and again in 1996 from Thurgood Marshall School of Law with a JD.
Harold Dutton Jr. is currently serving in the Texas State House, representing the state’s 142nd House district. He replaced previous state representative El Franco Lee in 1985.
Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.
You can read more about the bills and other measures here.
| Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| HB 2649 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the extent of a defendant’s criminal responsibility for the conduct of a coconspirator in a capital murder case |
| HB 2648 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the use of deadly force to make an arrest |
| HB 2647 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the establishment of the inmate legal services office and to the appointment and compensation of certain legal counsel for certain indigent inmates and other persons in secure correctional facilities |
| HB 2646 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the establishment of the private child care task force |
| HB 2645 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to a suit for possession of or access to a child by a grandparent |
| HB 2644 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the amount of a fine and costs discharged by a defendant while confined in jail or engaged in labor |
| HB 2643 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the application of child support guidelines to net resources in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship |
| HB 2642 | 02/11/2025 | Relating to the persons entitled to request a public hearing from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality related to the construction of a concrete plant |
| HB 2558 | 02/07/2025 | Relating to the child support obligation of an obligor during the obligor’s confinement in jail or prison |
| HB 2496 | 02/05/2025 | Relating to required findings for the issuance of a protective order based on the commission of family violence |
| HB 2495 | 02/05/2025 | Relating to certain rights of the sole managing conservator of a child in relation to the child’s enrollment in school |
| HB 2446 | 02/05/2025 | Relating to affidavits concerning cost and necessity of services in civil actions |
| HB 2445 | 02/05/2025 | Relating to the carcinogenic risk level used in the development of certain environmental remediation benchmarks |
| HB 2397 | 02/04/2025 | Relating to the oversight of Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University |
| HB 2396 | 02/04/2025 | Relating to the transfer of students between public schools |
| HB 2395 | 02/04/2025 | Relating to a grant program to provide free public school prekindergarten programs to certain children who are eligible for the subsidized child-care program administered by the Texas Workforce Commission |
| HB 2394 | 02/04/2025 | Relating to voter registration, including electronic voter registration |
| HB 2353 | 02/03/2025 | Relating to compensation for an attorney ad litem appointed in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed by a governmental entity |
| HB 2352 | 02/03/2025 | Relating to requiring wireless telephone service providers and mobile device manufacturers to disable certain stolen mobile devices |
| HB 2351 | 02/03/2025 | Relating to prohibiting the employment of persons not lawfully present; creating a criminal offense |
| HB 2350 | 02/03/2025 | Relating to standing in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship |
| HB 2288 | 01/30/2025 | Relating to an affirmative defense by the respondent to an application for a protective order |
| HB 2242 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to policy-making authority of constables for the purpose of a federal civil rights action |
| HB 2241 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to firearms; authorizing a private civil right of action |
| HB 2240 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to certain void marriages |
| HB 2239 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to the locations in which certain knives are prohibited |
| HB 2238 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to the creation and elimination of certain state holidays |
| HB 2237 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to abolishing the death penalty |
| HB 2236 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to the inclusion of chronically absent students as students at risk of dropping out of school and the collection and reporting of data regarding those students |
| HB 2235 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to the definitions of abuse and neglect of a child |
| HB 2234 | 01/29/2025 | Relating to the age of criminal responsibility and to certain substantive and procedural matters related to that age |
