Paul Bettencourt, Texas State Senator from 7th District (R) | https://x.com/TeamBettencourt
Paul Bettencourt, Texas State Senator from 7th District (R) | https://x.com/TeamBettencourt
More specifically, the official text was summarized by the state legislature as ’’Relating to required reporting of certain discretionary prosecutorial decisions of prosecuting attorneys’’.
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
The bill mandates that prosecuting attorneys in Texas who, after receiving a peace officer's affidavit alleging probable cause of a criminal offense under specific titles of the Penal Code, choose not to prosecute must file a report with the attorney general. This report must include details about the alleged offense, the rationale behind the decision not to prosecute, including any evidentiary issues, and the criminal history of the suspect. The attorney general's office is then required to publish monthly summaries online, detailing each prosecutorial decision not to pursue charges, specifying the county and type of alleged offense, without revealing any personal information. The bill takes effect on Sept. 1, 2025.
Paul Bettencourt, chair of the Senate Committee on Local Government and member of the Senate Committee on Transportation, proposed another nine bills during the 89(R) legislative session.
Bettencourt graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS.
Paul Bettencourt is currently serving in the Texas State Senate, representing the state's 7th Senate district. He replaced previous state senator Dan Patrick in 2015.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| SB 1542 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to maintaining the accuracy of information contained within the statewide voter registration system; creating a criminal offense |
| SB 1509 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to the authority of a municipality to regulate within its extraterritorial jurisdiction |
| SB 1503 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to the expansion of the territory of an emergency services district into the territory of a municipality |
| SB 1501 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to the allocation of proceeds from the issuance of general obligation bonds by political subdivisions |
| SB 1441 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to state agency employment openings and aptitude assessments |
| SB 1439 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to automatic recounts of certain elections |
| SB 1438 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to the procedure for a periodic rate adjustment by an electric utility |
| SB 1435 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to notice provided to certain state and local officials regarding an appeal of a municipal order filed by a transmission and distribution utility in a ratemaking proceeding |
| SB 818 | 02/07/2025 | Relating to the establishment of the Health Impact, Cost, and Coverage Analysis Program; authorizing a fee |
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