Texas

Recent / Pending Legislation

• SB 2460 (2025, died) – Rapid DNA analysis performed by certain law enforcement agencies and the content of certain DNA databases.Companion to SB 1723 covering the same Gov’t Code ch. 411 changes — defining rapid DNA analysis and authorizing DPS-approved agencies to perform it — but without the pilot program. Passed the Senate 31-0, then was postponed on House second reading and never voted on; its substance passed via SB 1723 instead.
• SB1723 (2025, enacted) – Rapid DNA analysis by certain law enforcement agencies, the establishment of a related pilot program, and the content of certain DNA databases. Defines “rapid DNA analysis” and creates a DPS approval pathway (§411.146(c-1)) letting an authorized agency run rapid DNA on booking samples under standards meeting or exceeding FBI quality assurance requirements, with DPS inspection and audit authority. New §411.1465 directs DPS to implement a pilot program in two counties by September 1, 2026, with authority to expand, FBI consultation, gift and grant funding, a legislative report due January 1, 2028, and expiration September 1, 2028; also bars storing personal identifying information in CODIS absent FBI approval.
• HB 1422 (2025, enacted) – Rights of victims of sexual assault and other sex offenses… Sex-offense omnibus whose DNA provision is new Gov’t Code §420.0736, Limited Consent for DNA Testing, letting a survivor consent to DPS forensic DNA testing of their evidence collection kit without reporting to law enforcement, notwithstanding the database-match and notification duties in §§420.0431-.0432. Results go to the survivor through the statewide tracking system only; DPS may not notify any other entity or use them for any other purpose without further written consent, and must explain how to report if the survivor later wants a database comparison.

Arrestees: Yes, from adults and minors (by implication).

Qualifying Crimes: Any felony arrest — expanded from enumerated offenses to all felony arrests by H.B. 3956 (2023, effective September 1, 2023).

Time of Collection: After arrest — immediately following fingerprinting, at the same location.

Expungement: On acquittal or dismissal, or after habeas corpus relief, the court orders the collecting law enforcement agency to destroy the specimen and associated records immediately. Expungement is also available through “an order of expunction” under the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, or a “certified copy of a court order” that “seals the juvenile record of the adjudication that resulted in the DNA record”.

Convicted Offenders: Yes – adults and juveniles.

Qualifying Crimes: Three categories: (1) Penal Code Title 5 offenses (criminal homicide; murder; capital murder; kidnapping; aggravated kidnapping; smuggling and continuous smuggling of persons; trafficking and continuous trafficking of persons; sexual offenses; assaultive offenses) punishable as a Class A misdemeanor — excluding offenses punishable as a Class A misdemeanor under 22.05, Deadly Conduct; or (2) offenses punishable as a Class A or B misdemeanor under Penal Code § 21.08 (indecent exposure), § 25.04 (enticing a child), or § 43.24 (sale, distribution, or display of harmful material to a minor) — solicitation of prostitution (former § 43.02 listing) no longer appears in § 411.1471(a)(2); or (3) Registered sex offenders or terrorist offenders. Note that adults and adjudicated juveniles currently confined to a Texas penal institution for a felony must also provide a sample.

Time of Collection: Collected after conviction.

Expungement: As soon as practicable after (1) acquittal of a defendant arrested for any felony-grade offense, (2) dismissal of the case, or (3) habeas corpus relief based on a court finding that the defendant is actually innocent of the crime for which he or she was sentenced, the court orders the collecting law enforcement agency to destroy the specimen and associated records immediately Further, expungement is available upon “an order of expunction” pursuant to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure or a “certified copy of a court order” that “seals the juvenile record of the adjudication that resulted in the DNA record.”

Statutes / Case Law

Tex. Gov’t Code § 411.144. Regulation of DNA Laboratories; Penalties

Tex. Gov’t Code § 411.148. Mandatory DNA Record

Tex. Gov’t Code § 411.151. Expunction or Removal of DNA Records

Tex. Gov’t Code § 411.1471. DNA Records of Persons Arrested for Charged with, or Convicted of Certain Offense

Tex. Gov’t Code § 411.1473. DNA Records of Certain Registered Sex Offenders

Velasquez v. Woods, 329 F.3d 420, 421 (5th Cir. 2003) (collection of blood samples from felons for registration in a DNA databank pursuant to § 411.148 does not violate those felons’ Fourth Amendment right to privacy).

Groceman v. U.S. Dep. of Justice, 354 F.3d 411 (5t h Cir. 2004) (collection of DNA from prisoners under the DNA Act is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment)

Legislative History

• HB 40 (74th Legislature, 1995), effective September 1, 1995. Created the DNA Database subchapter at Gov’t Code §§ 411.141–411.154. Established DPS as the central DNA repository, mandated collection from convicted sex offenders and certain inmates, and provided for CODIS compatibility. Section 411.1471 did not yet exist.
• SB 638 (77th Legislature, 2001), effective September 1, 2001, with collection beginning February 1, 2002. Created § 411.1471, requiring DNA collection at indictment — not yet arrest — for nine enumerated violent and sexual felonies, making Texas the first state with a pre-conviction DNA law. Also created § 411.1472 (community supervision), Art. 17.47 CCP (DNA as a bail condition), and Art. 102.020 CCP (court costs).
• HB 941 (84th Legislature, 2015), effective September 1, 2015. Amended § 411.1471 to add continuous sexual abuse of a child (Penal Code § 21.02) and continuous trafficking of persons (§ 20A.03) to the indictment-trigger list, taking it from nine to eleven. Also expanded conviction-based collection to a broader category of Title 5 offenses punishable as a Class A misdemeanor or higher.
• HB 979 (86th Legislature, 2019), effective September 1, 2019. Narrowly amended § 411.1471(a)(3) to remove the exemptions for simple assault (§ 22.01) and unlawful restraint (§ 20.02) from the conviction-based collection category, expanding who must provide a sample on conviction.
• HB 1399 (86th Legislature, 2019) — the “Krystal Jean Baker Act,” signed June 14, 2019, effective September 1, 2019. Major rewrite of § 411.1471. Shifted the collection trigger from indictment to arrest and expanded the qualifying list from eleven to twenty-five enumerated felonies, adding murder, capital murder, kidnapping, trafficking, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft, and others. Passed the House 77–68 and the Senate 26–5.
• HB 3956 (88th Legislature, 2023), effective September 1, 2023. Replaced the twenty-five-felony enumerated list in § 411.1471(a)(1) with a single phrase — “arrested for any offense punishable as a felony” — making collection mandatory for all felony arrests. Changed the collection trigger from “arresting” to “booking” and updated expunction procedures. Passed the House 130–11 and the Senate 30–1.
• HB 1422 (88th Legislature, 2023). A sexual assault victims’ rights and sex offense act that, among many changes, added Gov’t Code § 420.0736, “Limited consent for DNA testing”. It allows a survivor or other authorized person to consent to forensic DNA testing of evidence from a medical forensic examination on a limited basis — with express statutory notice that DNA testing performed under limited consent will not be compared to profiles maintained in DNA databases and will not be subject to use in a criminal proceeding. Also provides for tracking that consent through the statewide electronic evidence tracking system.
• HB 4628 (88th Legislature, 2023), effective September 1, 2023. Addressed the duties of law enforcement agencies, crime laboratories, and DPS following DNA profile comparisons. Amended Gov’t Code § 420.043 to add subsection (a-1), requiring an accredited crime laboratory that submits a profile to DPS for the required comparison to monitor its own database for matches between the submitted profile and the profiles in the databases described in § 420.043(a)(1) and (2) — closing a gap where a hit could exist at the local lab without anyone checking.
• SB 1723 (89th Legislature, 2025), effective September 1, 2025. Established a Rapid DNA framework. Amended the § 411.141 definitions to add “authorized law enforcement agency” — one authorized by the DPS director to perform rapid DNA analyses under § 411.146(c-1) — along with a CODIS definition and other new subdivisions, and amended §§ 411.142(h) and 411.146. Added § 411.1465, “Rapid DNA Analysis Pilot Program,” requiring DPS to support the program by September 1, 2025, begin implementing it in two counties by September 1, 2026 with authority to expand, permit consultation with the FBI, and submit a written report to the legislature reviewing the program.

• Texas authorized Rapid DNA at booking stations through SB 1723 (89R), signed June 20, 2025 and effective immediately, which defines “rapid DNA analysis,” lets DPS authorize individual agencies to perform it on booking samples under standards meeting or exceeding FBI quality assurance requirements, and creates a two-county pilot program at Gov’t Code §411.1465. DPS selected Montgomery and Williamson Counties; the first year (from September 1, 2025) is for instrument and IT infrastructure buildout, with live processing of felony arrestee swabs at the two booking stations required no later than September 1, 2026 — turning a 72-hour lab process into a 90-120 minute result compared against the DNA Index of Special Concern for unsolved homicides, sexual assaults, kidnappings, and terrorism cases. DPS must report results to the Legislature by January 1, 2028, and the pilot section expires September 1, 2028, leaving expansion to legislative action.

• Texas does two programs with growing FGG services. This includes the Center for Human Identification at the University of North Texas’ Health Sciences Center, as well as the Texas Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit.

• The Texas Ranger Division of DPS, funded by two BJA Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grants (FY2019, $1M; FY2022, $1.5M), conducted a statewide lawfully-owed-DNA census that initially identified roughly 3,300 registered sex offenders missing from CODIS, then — when expanded to all qualifying offenses from 1995 to 2020 — found 43,245 individuals who owed a sample but had never been collected (Salinas 2024).

• HB 4628 (2023, enacted) – Relating to the duties of law enforcement agencies, crime laboratories, and the Department of Public Safety following the performance of certain DNA profile comparisons. Follow-on to Molly Jane’s Law (HB 3106, 2019), imposing hard deadlines on the CODIS-hit pipeline for sexual assault kits: DPS must notify the accredited lab within 7 days whether a comparison produced a match, the submitting agency must supply any additional information the lab requests within 5 business days, and written notice must reach the submitting agency within 30 days of a match — separately identifying case-to-case matches that aid an investigation without naming a suspect and verified matches identifying a suspect or offender, with verification expeditable where there is a significant public safety concern. The agency must then acknowledge a case-to-case notification within 5 business days and, for a verified match, attempt to collect a DNA sample from the identified suspect or offender within 30 days and submit it for analysis. Passed House 146-0 and Senate 31-0; applies to comparisons performed on or after the effective date.