Monitoring the Session

HB 1765

bill limiting no-knock warrants

Did not pass

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Jolanda "Jo" JonesDHouse 147

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 the issuance of an arrest warrant or search warrant authorizing the use of a no-knock entry by a peace officer.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Magistrates can’t issue them unless two conditions are met.

The bill bars magistrates from issuing arrest or search warrants that let police enter without first announcing who they are, unless two conditions are met. A no-knock warrant is allowed only if the head of the officer's agency, or a designee, signs a statement approving it, and the warrant requires every executing officer to be in uniform or clearly marked as police. Only district judges, statutory county judges, and lawyer-judges of county and municipal courts of record may issue these warrants, unless a county has none of those, and the rules apply to warrants issued on or after September 1, 2025.

Labels

Labels: ZOMBIE BILL. Died 2 times: 88R HB 504 by Rep. Wu (Did not pass) and this bill (Did not pass). Checked against 88R only.BACK FROM THE DEAD. Same text as a bill filed before that died: 88R HB 504 by Rep. Wu (Did not pass). Filed in 2 sessions, counting this one. Checked against 88R only.TRY NO. 2. Filed in 2 sessions: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.ACROSS THE AISLE. Joint authors: 3 Republicans, 2 Democrats. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.GOT HALFWAY. Passed the House on May 16, 2025. Died in the Senate: received, never referred to a committee.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB1765 · 2025-01-07

SOLD BY

Rep. Jolanda "Jo" JonesDHouse 147 Rep. Mitch LittleRHouse 65 Rep. John T. SmitheeRHouse 86

+ 2 more authors

ITEM

relating to the issuance of an arrest warrant or search warrant authorizing the use of a no-knock entry by a peace officer.

WHAT IT DOES

Magistrates can’t issue them unless two conditions are met.

The bill bars magistrates from issuing arrest or search warrants that let police enter without first announcing who they are, unless two conditions are met. A no-knock warrant is allowed only if the head of the officer's agency, or a designee, signs a statement approving it, and the warrant requires every executing officer to be in uniform or clearly marked as police. Only district judges, statutory county judges, and lawyer-judges of county and municipal courts of record may issue these warrants, unless a county has none of those, and the rules apply to warrants issued on or after September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 28, 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. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  5. Considered in public hearing
  6. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
  7. Left pending in committee
  8. Considered in formal meeting
  9. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  10. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  11. Committee report distributed
  12. Committee report sent to Calendars
  13. Considered in Calendars
  14. Placed on General State Calendar
  15. Read 2nd time
  16. Passed to engrossment
  17. Record vote RV#2721
  18. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  19. Read 3rd time
  20. Passed
  21. Record vote RV#2839
  22. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  23. Reported engrossed
  24. Received from the House
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 84 yea · 31 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 16, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

All floor motions and other positions below.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Jolanda "Jo" Jones

Donors

Carrin Patman$15,000Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$9KHouston Federation of Teachers COPE$7K

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 · Oct 28, 2024 to Oct 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.

Carrin Patman$15,000.00
Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$9,000.00

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$9,000.00

Cash
$9,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$9,000.00

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 · Dec 1, 2024 to Apr 1, 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: 100986920, 101030360, 101059410.

Houston Federation of Teachers COPE$7,000.00

Houston Federation of Teachers COPE

$7,000.00

Cash
$7,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$7,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Dec 11, 2024 to Jun 30, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 11, 2024. 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: 100986920.

Money

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

×

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$9,000.00

Cash
$9,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$9,000.00

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 · Dec 1, 2024 to Apr 1, 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: 100986920, 101030360, 101059410.

×

Houston Federation of Teachers COPE

$7,000.00

Cash
$7,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$7,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Dec 11, 2024 to Jun 30, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 11, 2024. 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: 100986920.

Votes2

House May 16, 2025

Yea
84
Nay
31
Present, not voting
2
Absent
8
Excused
25
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 2839

HB 1765 was passed by (Record 2839): 84 Yeas, 31 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 84 (published)
  • Nay: 31 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 8 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 25 (derived from named list)

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

House May 15, 2025

Yea
88
Nay
36
Present, not voting
2
Absent
9
Excused
15
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 2721

HB 1765 was passed to engrossment by (Record 2721): 88 Yeas, 36 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 88 (published)
  • Nay: 36 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 9 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 15 (derived from named list)

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

Witnesses11
For
8
Against
3
On
0
Names

For

  • Self4 registrations
  • Self; Equity Action1 registration
  • Self; Sheriffs Association of Texas1 registration
  • Texas Police Chiefs Association1 registration
  • Texas Public Policy Foundation1 registration

Against

  • Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT)1 registration
  • Self1 registration
  • Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA)1 registration
Sources

11 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 28, 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.

FILED BEFORE

Filed 2 times: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.

88R HB 504

by Rep. Wu, different lead author · Did not pass · same text

Introduced text

Last action, May 2, 2023: Received from the House

Relating to the issuance of a warrant authorizing the use of a no-knock entry by a peace officer.

Caption, 88R bill history

Sources

Texas House · Filed Jan 7, 2025

05/19/2025 S Received from the House

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report · Engrossed

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

House committee · Criminal Jurisprudence · Committee vote 8 aye, 3 nay · Out of committee

Companion

SB 2560 by West (similar)

Subjects

Criminal Procedure--General

ARREST WARRANTS

MAGISTRATES

PEACE OFFICERS

SEARCH WARRANTS

Text

The text as introduced · 661 words

89R1740 JCG-D

By: Jones of Harris
H.B. No. 1765

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the issuance of an arrest warrant or search warrant

authorizing the use of a no-knock entry by a peace officer.

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 15, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended by adding Article 15.251 to read as follows:

Art. 15.251. NO-KNOCK ARREST WARRANT. (a) In this article,

"no-knock entry" means a peace officer's entry, for the purpose of

executing a warrant, into a building or other place without giving

notice of the officer's authority or purpose before entering.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a magistrate may

not issue an arrest warrant that authorizes a no-knock entry.

(c) A magistrate listed in Subsection (d) may issue an

arrest warrant that authorizes a no-knock entry only if:

(1) the complaint is submitted concurrently with a

statement that approves the use of a no-knock entry and that is

signed by the chief administrator of the law enforcement agency

employing the affiant or by the chief administrator's designee; and

(2) the warrant requires that each peace officer

executing the warrant be in uniform or otherwise clearly

identifiable as a peace officer.

(d) Notwithstanding any other law, only the following

magistrates may issue an arrest warrant that authorizes a no-knock

entry:

(1) a district court judge;

(2) a statutory county court judge;

(3) a judge of a county court who is an attorney

licensed by this state;

(4) a judge of a municipal court of record who is an

attorney licensed by this state; or

(5) any magistrate if the county in which the warrant

is issued does not have:

(A) a municipal court of record with a courtroom

located in that county and a judge who is an attorney licensed by

this state;

(B) a county court judge who is an attorney

licensed by this state; or

(C) a statutory county court judge.

SECTION 2. Chapter 18, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended by adding Article 18.025 to read as follows:

Art. 18.025. NO-KNOCK SEARCH WARRANT. (a) In this article,

"no-knock entry" has the meaning assigned by Article 15.251.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a magistrate may

not issue a search warrant that authorizes a no-knock entry.

(c) A magistrate listed in Subsection (d) may issue a search

warrant that authorizes a no-knock entry only if:

(1) the affidavit under Article 18.01(b) is submitted

concurrently with a statement that approves the use of a no-knock

entry and that is signed by the chief administrator of the law

enforcement agency employing the affiant or by the chief

administrator's designee; and

(2) the warrant requires that each peace officer

executing the warrant be in uniform or otherwise clearly

identifiable as a peace officer.

(d) Notwithstanding any other law, only the following

magistrates may issue a search warrant that authorizes a no-knock

entry:

(1) a district court judge;

(2) a statutory county court judge;

(3) a judge of a county court who is an attorney

licensed by this state;

(4) a judge of a municipal court of record who is an

attorney licensed by this state; or

(5) any magistrate if the county in which the warrant

is issued does not have:

(A) a municipal court of record with a courtroom

located in that county and a judge who is an attorney licensed by

this state;

(B) a county court judge who is an attorney

licensed by this state; or

(C) a statutory county court judge.

SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only

to a warrant issued on or after the effective date of this Act. A

warrant issued before the effective date of this Act is governed by

the law in effect on the date the warrant was issued, and the former

law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.