Monitoring the Session

HB 3248

defense base development authority gets its own police force

Became law, effective Sep 1, 2025

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Philip CortezDHouse 117

Initial review · graded Oct 22, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to the authority of a defense base development authority to employ and commission peace officers.

Caption from analyzed text · version E.

Summary

Arrest powers on any property the authority owns or controls.

The bill lets the board of a defense base development authority hire and commission its own peace officers. It touches these authorities, which the pitch says include the Port Authority of San Antonio on the former Kelly Air Force Base site, and anyone on property the authority owns or controls. On the ground, the authority can run its own police force with arrest powers on its property, starting September 1, 2025.

Labels

Labels: CROSS-PARTY HANDOFF. Lead author Philip Cortez (D) in the House. Lead sponsor Pete Flores (R) in the Senate. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.ACROSS THE AISLE. Joint authors: 2 Republicans, 2 Democrats. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB3248 · 2025-02-24

SOLD BY

+ 1 more author

ITEM

relating to the authority of a defense base development authority to employ and commission peace officers.

WHAT IT DOES

Arrest powers on any property the authority owns or controls.

The bill lets the board of a defense base development authority hire and commission its own peace officers. It touches these authorities, which the pitch says include the Port Authority of San Antonio on the former Kelly Air Force Base site, and anyone on property the authority owns or controls. On the ground, the authority can run its own police force with arrest powers on its property, starting September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 2, 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 s/c on Defense & Veterans' Affairs by Speaker
  4. Scheduled for public hearing in s/c on . . .
  5. Considered by s/c in public hearing
  6. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in subcommittee
  7. Left pending in subcommittee
  8. Recalled from subcommittee
  9. Considered in formal meeting
  10. Recommended to be sent to Local & Consent
  11. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  12. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  13. Committee report distributed
  14. Comm. report sent to Local & Consent Calendar
  15. Considered in Local & Consent Calendars
  16. Transferred to Calendars Committee
  17. Committee report sent to Calendars
  18. Considered in Calendars
  19. Placed on General State Calendar
  20. Read 2nd time
  21. Passed to engrossment
  22. Record vote RV#904
  23. Read 3rd time
  24. Passed
  25. Record vote RV#1045
  26. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  27. Reported engrossed
  28. Received from the House
  29. Read first time
  30. Referred to Criminal Justice
  31. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  32. Considered in public hearing
  33. Testimony taken in committee
  34. Vote taken in committee
  35. Reported favorably w/o amendments
  36. Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
  37. Committee report printed and distributed
  38. Placed on intent calendar
  39. Rules suspended-Regular order of business
  40. Read 2nd time & passed to 3rd reading
  41. Vote recorded in Journal
  42. Three day rule suspended
  43. Record vote
  44. Read 3rd time
  45. Passed
  46. Record vote
  47. Senate passage reported
  48. Reported enrolled
  49. Signed in the House
  50. Signed in the Senate
  51. Sent to the Governor
  52. Signed by the Governor
  53. Effective on 9/1/25
FILED UNDER

GOVERNMENT GROWTH UNDER A CONSERVATIVE BANNER

THE TEXT

“The board may employ and commission peace officers for the”…

Bill text, engrossed version (E)

The bill lets a local authority create a new set of government peace officer positions with arrest powers on its property.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 133 yea · 0 nay

Senate · 31 yea · 0 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · Apr 30, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · May 9, 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

Donors

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 24, 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$44,000.00

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$44,000.00

Cash
$44,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$44,000.00

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 6, 2024 to Sep 25, 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: 100985407, 101008363, 101026711, 101035640, 101039466, 101052595, 101071633.

Texas Sands PAC$37,000.00

Texas Sands PAC

$37,000.00

Cash
$37,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$37,000.00

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 · Dec 6, 2024 to Oct 24, 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: 100985407, 101039466, 101071633.

Physicians for Free Market Healthcare PAC$35,000.00

Physicians for Free Market Healthcare PAC

$35,000.00

Cash
$35,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$35,000.00

Also funds 33 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jun 30, 2025 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Sep 22, 2025 to Oct 15, 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: 101026711, 101035640, 101071633.

Money

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

×

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$44,000.00

Cash
$44,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$44,000.00

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 6, 2024 to Sep 25, 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: 100985407, 101008363, 101026711, 101035640, 101039466, 101052595, 101071633.

×

Texas Sands PAC

$37,000.00

Cash
$37,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$37,000.00

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 · Dec 6, 2024 to Oct 24, 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: 100985407, 101039466, 101071633.

×

Physicians for Free Market Healthcare PAC

$35,000.00

Cash
$35,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$35,000.00

Also funds 33 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jun 30, 2025 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Sep 22, 2025 to Oct 15, 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: 101026711, 101035640, 101071633.

Votes5

Senate May 9, 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 Flores moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that HB 3248 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 9, 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 Flores moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that HB 3248 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 9, 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 Apr 30, 2025

Yea
133
Nay
0
Present, not voting
2
Absent
3
Excused
12
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 1045

HB 3248 was passed by (Record 1045): 133 Yeas, 0 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 133 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 3 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 12 (derived from named list)

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

House Apr 29, 2025

Yea
148
Nay
0
Present, not voting
2
Absent
0
Excused
0
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 904

HB 3248 was passed to engrossment by (Record 904): 148 Yeas, 0 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 148 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

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

Witnesses6
For
6
Against
0
On
0
Names

For

  • Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce1 registration
  • Port San Antonio2 registrations
  • Self1 registration
  • Self; VFW Dept of Texas1 registration
  • Self; VIA Transit1 registration
Sources

6 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 fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 2, 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 E by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 22, 2026, against the published rubric.

Sources

Texas House · Filed Feb 24, 2025

05/24/2025 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.

Sponsors

House committee · Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs · Committee vote 11 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Senate committee · Criminal Justice · Committee vote 7 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Subjects

Law Enforcement

Military & Veterans

Special Districts & Authorities--Miscellaneous

PEACE OFFICERS

Text

The text as introduced · 867 words

89R13135 MCF-F

By: Cortez
H.B. No. 3248

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the authority of a defense base development authority

to employ and commission peace officers.

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 379B, Local Government Code, is amended

by adding Section 379B.0046 to read as follows:

Sec. 379B.0046. EMPLOYMENT OF AUTHORITY PEACE OFFICERS.

(a) The board may employ and commission peace officers for the

authority to prevent or abate the commission of offenses relating

to port functions, facilities, and operations under state or local

law.

(b) The jurisdiction of a peace officer commissioned under

this section includes the property owned or controlled by the

authority.

(c) In a peace officer's jurisdiction, the peace officer has

the authority granted by Chapter 14, Code of Criminal Procedure.

SECTION 2. Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended to read as follows:

Art. 2A.001. PEACE OFFICERS GENERALLY. The following are

peace officers:

(1) a sheriff, a sheriff's deputy, or a reserve deputy

sheriff who holds a permanent peace officer license issued under

Chapter 1701, Occupations Code;

(2) a constable, a deputy constable, or a reserve

deputy constable who holds a permanent peace officer license issued

under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code;

(3) a marshal or police officer of a municipality or a

reserve municipal police officer who holds a permanent peace

officer license issued under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code;

(4) a ranger, officer, or member of the reserve

officer corps commissioned by the Public Safety Commission and the

director of the Department of Public Safety;

(5) an investigator of a district attorney's, criminal

district attorney's, or county attorney's office;

(6) a law enforcement agent of the Texas Alcoholic

Beverage Commission;

(7) a member of an arson investigating unit

commissioned by a municipality, a county, or the state;

(8) an officer commissioned under Section 37.081,

Education Code, or Subchapter E, Chapter 51, Education Code;

(9) an officer commissioned by the Texas Facilities

Commission;

(10) a law enforcement officer commissioned by the

Parks and Wildlife Commission;

(11) an officer commissioned under Chapter 23,

Transportation Code;

(12) a municipal park and recreational patrol officer

or security officer;

(13) a security officer or investigator commissioned

as a peace officer by the comptroller;

(14) an officer commissioned by a water control and

improvement district under Section 49.216, Water Code;

(15) an officer commissioned by a board of trustees

under Chapter 54, Transportation Code;

(16) an investigator commissioned by the Texas Medical

Board;

(17) an officer commissioned by:

(A) the board of managers of the Dallas County

Hospital District, the Tarrant County Hospital District, the Bexar

County Hospital District, or the El Paso County Hospital District

under Section 281.057, Health and Safety Code;

(B) the board of directors of the Ector County

Hospital District under Section 1024.117, Special District Local

Laws Code;

(C) the board of directors of the Midland County

Hospital District of Midland County, Texas, under Section 1061.121,

Special District Local Laws Code; [ or ]

(D) the board of hospital managers of the Lubbock

County Hospital District of Lubbock County, Texas, under Section

1053.113, Special District Local Laws Code; or

(E) the board of directors of a defense base

development authority established under Chapter 379B, Local

Government Code;

(18) a county park ranger commissioned under

Subchapter E, Chapter 351, Local Government Code;

(19) an investigator employed by the Texas Racing

Commission;

(20) an officer commissioned under Chapter 554,

Occupations Code;

(21) an officer commissioned by the governing body of

a metropolitan rapid transit authority under Section 451.108,

Transportation Code, or a regional transportation authority under

Section 452.110, Transportation Code;

(22) an investigator commissioned by the attorney

general under Section 402.009, Government Code;

(23) a security officer or investigator commissioned

as a peace officer under Chapter 466, Government Code;

(24) an officer appointed by an appellate court under

Subchapter F, Chapter 53, Government Code;

(25) an officer commissioned by the state fire marshal

under Chapter 417, Government Code;

(26) an investigator commissioned by the commissioner

of insurance under Section 701.104, Insurance Code;

(27) an apprehension specialist or inspector general

commissioned by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department as an officer

under Section 242.102 or 243.052, Human Resources Code;

(28) an officer appointed by the inspector general of

the Texas Department of Criminal Justice under Section 493.019,

Government Code;

(29) an investigator commissioned by the Texas

Commission on Law Enforcement under Section 1701.160, Occupations

Code;

(30) a fire marshal or any related officer, inspector,

or investigator commissioned by a county under Subchapter B,

Chapter 352, Local Government Code;

(31) a fire marshal or any officer, inspector, or

investigator commissioned by an emergency services district under

Chapter 775, Health and Safety Code;

(32) an officer commissioned by the State Board of

Dental Examiners under Section 254.013, Occupations Code, subject

to the limitations imposed by that section; and

(33) an investigator commissioned by the Texas

Juvenile Justice Department as an officer under Section 221.011,

Human Resources Code.

SECTION 3. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails

over another Act of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025,

relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted

codes.

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