Monitoring the Session

HB 1720

Gervin-Hawkins Bill Makes Entering A Zoo Enclosure A State Jail Felony

Did not pass

Verdict: Smells

SmellsNeeds review
Rep. Barbara Gervin-HawkinsDHouse 120
Why it's charged
Already a crime

THE TEXT

“An offense under this section is a state jail felony,”…

Bill text, introduced version (I)

Based on general knowledge of Texas law, not on the bill text, entering property without permission is already covered by the Penal Code's general trespass offense and harming animals by cruelty provisions. This bill mainly raises the penalty for one setting, so the overlap is partial and confidence is kept low.

Already a crime

Needs review · Nov 1, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to the creation of the criminal offense of trespass in a facility housing an animal and to restitution for property damage resulting from that trespass.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Unlocked enclosure? Still no defense! Harass an animal that gets hurt, third-degree felony.

The bill makes it a state jail felony to knowingly enter, without permission, a cage or enclosure at a zoo or similar animal facility open for public visits, conservation, education or science. The charge rises to a third-degree felony if the person harassed the animal and the animal was hurt or killed, and a court must order a convicted person to pay the facility back for damage, including the animal's injury or death. Entering to help a person or an animal is a defense, but an unlocked or poorly guarded enclosure is not, starting September 1, 2025.

Labels

Labels: STALLED AFTER COMMITTEE. Voted out of the House Criminal Jurisprudence committee 7-0 on May 12, 2025. Never placed on a calendar. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB1720 · 2025-01-02

SOLD BY

Rep. Barbara Gervin-HawkinsDHouse 120

ITEM

relating to the creation of the criminal offense of trespass in a facility housing an animal and to restitution for property damage resulting from that trespass.

WHAT IT DOES

Unlocked enclosure? Still no defense! Harass an animal that gets hurt, third-degree felony.

The bill makes it a state jail felony to knowingly enter, without permission, a cage or enclosure at a zoo or similar animal facility open for public visits, conservation, education or science. The charge rises to a third-degree felony if the person harassed the animal and the animal was hurt or killed, and a court must order a convicted person to pay the facility back for damage, including the animal's injury or death. Entering to help a person or an animal is a defense, but an unlocked or poorly guarded enclosure is not, starting September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[x] ALREADY A CRIMEanalysis confidence 40%

THE TEXT

“An offense under this section is a state jail felony,”…

Bill text, introduced version (I)

Based on general knowledge of Texas law, not on the bill text, entering property without permission is already covered by the Penal Code's general trespass offense and harming animals by cruelty provisions. This bill mainly raises the penalty for one setting, so the overlap is partial and confidence is kept low.

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 23, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

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. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in subcommittee
  8. Left pending in subcommittee
  9. Recalled from subcommittee
  10. Considered in formal meeting
  11. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  12. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  13. Committee report distributed
  14. Committee report sent to Calendars
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

Smells

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Barbara Gervin-Hawkins

Donors

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$36KTexas Sands PAC$34KLegacy 44$17K

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

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

Derived itemized flow · Aug 6, 2024 to Feb 21, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$36,000.00

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$36,000.00

Cash
$36,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$36,000.00

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Sep 20, 2024 to Feb 21, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100981675, 101026167, 101035798, 101038806.

Texas Sands PAC$34,000.00

Texas Sands PAC

$34,000.00

Cash
$34,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$34,000.00

Also funds 121 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 3, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 1, 2024 to Feb 12, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100981675, 101038806.

Legacy 44$17,000.00

Legacy 44

$17,000.00

Cash
$1,000.00
Paid by others
$16,000.00
Total
$17,000.00
digital $16,000.00

Also funds 33 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Oct 21, 2024 to Oct 20, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Nov 18, 2024 to Feb 20, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100981675, 101038806.

Money

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

×

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$36,000.00

Cash
$36,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$36,000.00

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Sep 20, 2024 to Feb 21, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100981675, 101026167, 101035798, 101038806.

×

Texas Sands PAC

$34,000.00

Cash
$34,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$34,000.00

Also funds 121 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 3, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 1, 2024 to Feb 12, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100981675, 101038806.

×

Legacy 44

$17,000.00

Cash
$1,000.00
Paid by others
$16,000.00
Total
$17,000.00
digital $16,000.00

Also funds 33 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Oct 21, 2024 to Oct 20, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Nov 18, 2024 to Feb 20, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100981675, 101038806.

Votes

No floor vote loaded for this bill.

Witnesses13
For
13
Against
0
On
0
Names

For

  • Animal world & snake farm zoo1 registration
  • Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT)1 registration
  • Dallas Zoo1 registration
  • Houston Police Department1 registration
  • San Antonio Police Officers Association1 registration
  • San Antonio Zoo1 registration
  • Self; Houston Police Officers’ Union1 registration
  • Sheriffs’ Association of Texas1 registration
  • Texas Farm Bureau1 registration
  • Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA)1 registration
  • Texas Police Chiefs Association1 registration
  • Texas Travel Alliance2 registrations
Sources

13 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.

Fiscal

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 23, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

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 Jan 2, 2025

05/14/2025 H Committee report sent to Calendars

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report

Data snapshot Nov 1, 2026 at 1:41 PM CST. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

House committee · Criminal Jurisprudence · Committee vote 7 aye, 0 nay, 4 absent · Out of committee

Companion

SB 2969 by Parker (identical)

Subjects

Animals

Crimes--Against Property

TRESPASS

Text

The text as introduced · 393 words

89R4338 JDK-F

By: Gervin-Hawkins
H.B. No. 1720

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the creation of the criminal offense of trespass in a

facility housing an animal and to restitution for property damage

resulting from that trespass.

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 30, Penal Code, is amended by adding

Section 30.08 to read as follows:

Sec. 30.08. TRESPASS IN FACILITY HOUSING AN ANIMAL. (a) In

this section, "harass" means to engage in any act that:

(1) demonstrates a disregard for the well-being of an

animal; or

(2) disrupts the normal behavior patterns of an

animal, including disrupting the animal's feeding, watering,

resting, or breeding.

(b) A person commits an offense if the person enters an

indoor or outdoor facility housing an animal that is operated for

the purpose of public visitation, conservation, education, or

science, including a zoo, and the person:

(1) enters a cage, enclosure, or other area where an

animal is exhibited or housed; and

(2) knows the person has no legal authority, license,

or permission to enter.

(c) An offense under this section is a state jail felony,

except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if it is

shown on the trial of the offense that:

(1) the actor harassed the animal; and

(2) the animal suffered injury or death.

(d) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that

the person entered the cage, enclosure, or other area to aid another

person or an animal located in the cage, enclosure, or other area.

(e) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section

that:

(1) entry to the cage, enclosure, or other area where

the animal was exhibited or housed was not sufficiently guarded,

locked, or made otherwise inaccessible; or

(2) injury to the animal was necessary to protect the

person from injury or death.

SECTION 2. Article 42.037, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended by adding Subsection (y) to read as follows:

(y) If a defendant is convicted of an offense under Section

30.08, Penal Code, the court shall order the defendant to make

restitution to the facility for the cost of any damage, loss, or

destruction as a result of the offense, including the injury or

death of the animal.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.