Monitoring the Session

HB 1443

Schatzline Bill Makes Promoting Child-Like Sex Dolls A Third-Degree Felony

Became law, effective Sep 1, 2025

Verdict: Smells

SmellsInitial review
Rep. Nate SchatzlineRHouse 93
Why it's charged
Already a crime

THE TEXT

“(b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly:”

Bill text, introduced version (I)

The definition requires the doll to be "obscene," and based on general knowledge of Texas law, the existing obscenity statute in the same Penal Code subchapter already makes promoting obscene material or devices an offense, so part of this conduct may already be covered. The bill text does not cite that section, and the new law does add a specific category and higher penalties.

Already a crime

Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to creating the criminal offense of promotion of a child-like sex doll.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Holding six or more means presumed intent to promote. Existing obscenity law may already cover part.

The bill creates a new offense in the Penal Code for promoting, or possessing with intent to promote, an obscene, anatomically correct doll, mannequin, or robot with the features of a child that is meant for sexual use. Anyone who sells, distributes, or otherwise promotes such a doll is covered, and anyone holding six or more is presumed to intend to promote them, with a defense for bona fide law enforcement purposes. Promoting becomes a third-degree felony and possessing with intent to promote becomes a Class A misdemeanor, starting September 1, 2025.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB1443 · 2024-11-21

SOLD BY

Rep. Nate SchatzlineRHouse 93 Rep. Jared PattersonRHouse 106 Rep. Janis HoltRHouse 18

+ 2 more authors, 24 coauthors

ITEM

relating to creating the criminal offense of promotion of a child-like sex doll.

WHAT IT DOES

Holding six or more means presumed intent to promote. Existing obscenity law may already cover part.

The bill creates a new offense in the Penal Code for promoting, or possessing with intent to promote, an obscene, anatomically correct doll, mannequin, or robot with the features of a child that is meant for sexual use. Anyone who sells, distributes, or otherwise promotes such a doll is covered, and anyone holding six or more is presumed to intend to promote them, with a defense for bona fide law enforcement purposes. Promoting becomes a third-degree felony and possessing with intent to promote becomes a Class A misdemeanor, starting September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[x] ALREADY A CRIMEanalysis confidence 45%

THE TEXT

“(b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly:”

Bill text, introduced version (I)

The definition requires the doll to be "obscene," and based on general knowledge of Texas law, the existing obscenity statute in the same Penal Code subchapter already makes promoting obscene material or devices an offense, so part of this conduct may already be covered. The bill text does not cite that section, and the new law does add a specific category and higher penalties.

TOTAL

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 19, 2025

Creating a new criminal offense may result in an increase in demands upon state and local correctional resources due to a possible increase in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement. The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined due to the lack of data to estimate the prevalence of conduct outlined in the bill's provisions that would be subject to criminal penalties.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

HISTORY

  1. Filed
  2. Read first time
  3. Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
  4. Referred directly to subcommittee by chair
  5. Scheduled for public hearing in s/c on . . .
  6. Considered by s/c in public hearing
  7. Committee substitute considered in s/c
  8. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in subcommittee
  9. Left pending in subcommittee
  10. Recalled from subcommittee
  11. Considered in public hearing
  12. Committee substitute considered in committee
  13. Reported favorably as substituted
  14. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  15. Committee report distributed
  16. Committee report sent to Calendars
  17. Considered in Calendars
  18. Placed on General State Calendar
  19. Read 2nd time
  20. Passed to engrossment
  21. Record vote RV#1930
  22. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  23. Read 3rd time
  24. Postponed 5/10/25 12:00 PM
  25. Laid out as postponed business
  26. Amendment withdrawn 1-Hickland
  27. Passed
  28. Record vote RV#2019
  29. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  30. Reported engrossed
  31. Received from the House
  32. Read first time
  33. Referred to Criminal Justice
  34. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  35. Considered in public hearing
  36. Vote taken in committee
  37. Reported favorably w/o amendments
  38. Committee report printed and distributed
  39. Co-sponsor authorized
  40. Placed on intent calendar
  41. Rules suspended-Regular order of business
  42. Read 2nd time & passed to 3rd reading
  43. Vote recorded in Journal
  44. Three day rule suspended
  45. Record vote
  46. Read 3rd time
  47. Passed
  48. Record vote
  49. Senate passage reported
  50. Reported enrolled
  51. Signed in the House
  52. Signed in the Senate
  53. Sent to the Governor
  54. Signed by the Governor
  55. Effective on 9/1/25
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 130 yea · 0 nay

Senate · 31 yea · 0 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 10, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · May 23, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

All floor motions and other positions below.

Smells

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Nate Schatzline

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC Austin TX$55,000
Texans United for a Conservative Majority Victoria TX$10,000
Dan Patrick Campaign Austin TX$5,000

Derived from itemized gifts, Oct 27, 2024 to Jun 30, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

$113,206 raised in 4 of 4 reports since Oct 27, 2024. Derived sum of published report totals. Flow, Oct 27, 2024 through Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026. 4 of 4 filed reports carry a published figure. Partial total. Regular reports do not cover Jul 9, 2025 to Aug 15, 2025, Aug 15, 2025 to Sep 4, 2025.

$220,212 spent since Oct 27, 2024. Derived sum of published report totals. Flow, Oct 27, 2024 through Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026. 4 of 4 filed reports carry a published figure.

$54,238 cash on hand. Published report total. Stock, as of Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026.

$0 loans outstanding. Published report total. Stock, as of Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived sum of itemized contributions in regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Unitemized contributions are not included. Flow, Oct 27, 2024 through Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

Votes5

Senate May 23, 2025

Yea
31
Nay
0
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

Sources

Senator King moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that HB 1443 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. The bill was read third time and was passed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 31 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate May 23, 2025

Yea
31
Nay
0
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

Sources

Senator King moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that HB 1443 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 31 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate May 23, 2025

Yea
Not printed
Nay
Not printed
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

Voice vote. No numeric tally or individual yeas are inferred.

Sources

The bill was read second time and was passed to third reading by a viva voce vote.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: Not printed
  • Nay: Not printed
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House May 10, 2025

Yea
130
Nay
0
Present, not voting
2
Absent
4
Excused
14
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 2019

HB 1443 was passed by (Record 2019): 130 Yeas, 0 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 130 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 4 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 14 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House May 9, 2025

Yea
134
Nay
0
Present, not voting
1
Absent
5
Excused
10
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 1930

CSHB 1443 was passed to engrossment by (Record 1930): 134 Yeas, 0 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 134 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 5 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 10 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Witnesses14
For
14
Against
0
On
0
Names

For

  • Harris County Deputies' Organization FOP #392 registrations
  • Houston Police Department2 registrations
  • Self2 registrations
  • Self; Dallas Police Assoc1 registration
  • Self; Harris County Sheriff’s Office1 registration
  • Self; Houston Police Officers’ Union2 registrations
  • Self; Texas Family Project1 registration
  • Sheriffs’ Association of Texas (SAT)1 registration
  • Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA)2 registrations
Sources

14 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.

House witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Senate witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Fiscal

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 19, 2025

Creating a new criminal offense may result in an increase in demands upon state and local correctional resources due to a possible increase in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement. The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined due to the lack of data to estimate the prevalence of conduct outlined in the bill's provisions that would be subject to criminal penalties.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.

Sources

Texas House · Filed Nov 21, 2024

06/20/2025 E Effective on 9/1/25

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report · Engrossed · Senate Committee Report · Enrolled

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:19 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

Coauthors
Daniel AldersRHouse 6 Keith BellRHouse 4 Brad BuckleyRHouse 54 Benjamin BumgarnerRHouse 63 David CookRHouse 96 Ryan GuillenRHouse 31 Caroline Harris DavilaRHouse 52 Richard HayesRHouse 57 Cole HefnerRHouse 5 Hillary HicklandRHouse 55 Andy HopperRHouse 64 Lacey HullRHouse 138 Terri Leo WilsonRHouse 23 Shelley LutherRHouse 62 Don McLaughlinRHouse 80 John McQueeneyRHouse 97 Matt MorganRHouse 26 Katrina PiersonRHouse 33 Joanne ShofnerRHouse 11 Shelby SlawsonRHouse 59 Valoree SwansonRHouse 150 Ellen TroxclairRHouse 19 Cody VasutRHouse 25 Wes VirdellRHouse 53
Sponsors
Phil KingRSenate 10
Cosponsors
César BlancoDSenate 29 Kelly HancockRSenate 9 Adam HinojosaRSenate 27 Lois KolkhorstRSenate 18 Mayes MiddletonRSenate 11 Tan ParkerRSenate 12

House committee · Criminal Jurisprudence · Committee vote 11 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Senate committee · Criminal Justice · Committee vote 6 aye, 0 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Subjects

Crimes--Against Persons--Sexual

Law Enforcement

Minors--Crimes Against

Text

The text as introduced · 214 words

89R5844 EAS-D

By: Schatzline
H.B. No. 1443

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to creating the criminal offense of promotion of a

child-like sex doll.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 43, Penal Code, is amended

by adding Section 43.231 to read as follows:

Sec. 43.231. PROMOTION OF CHILD-LIKE SEX DOLL. (a) In this

section, "child-like sex doll" means an obscene, anatomically

correct doll, mannequin, or robot that has the features of a child

and that is intended to be used for sexual stimulation or

gratification.

(b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly:

(1) promotes a child-like sex doll; or

(2) possesses, with the intent to promote, a

child-like sex doll.

(c) An offense under Subsection (b)(1) is a felony of the

third degree.

(d) An offense under Subsection (b)(2) is a Class A

misdemeanor.

(e) A person who possesses six or more child-like sex dolls

is presumed to possess the dolls with the intent to promote the

dolls.

(f) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this

section that the person who possesses or promotes the child-like

sex dolls does so for a bona fide law enforcement purpose.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.