HB 4654
Notary Seal Offense Can Be Stacked On Any Other Law
Died in committee
Verdict: Smells
Why it's charged
Already a crime
THE TEXT
“If conduct that constitutes an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both.”
Bill text, introduced version (I)
The bill itself expects overlap with other offenses. Based on general knowledge of Texas law, not the bill text, filing a fraudulent document with a forged seal is likely already reached by existing forgery and tampering-with-a-governmental-record offenses.
Already a crimeInitial 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 a criminal offense for the use of a notary seal or counterfeit seal on a fraudulent document or instrument.
Caption from analyzed text · version I.
Summary
A new Class A misdemeanor. Prosecute under “this section, the other law, or both.”
The bill creates a new Class A misdemeanor offense for knowingly putting a real or fake notary seal on a document that state law already presumes to be fraudulent, and then filing or trying to file it with a court or local clerk. It touches anyone who files documents with state court clerks, district clerks, county clerks or municipal clerks, and it defines a fake seal to include photocopies and scanned or electronic copies of a real seal. Starting September 1, 2025, prosecutors gain one more charge option for this conduct, and the bill says it can be stacked with any other law that covers the same act.
Labels
Labels: CREATES AN OFFENSE. The caption of the graded version (introduced) reads: “relating to creating a criminal offense for the use of a notary seal or counterfeit seal on a fraudulent document or instrument.”
Receipt
The receipt
89R-HB4654 · 2025-03-12
SOLD BY
+ 1 coauthor
ITEM
relating to creating a criminal offense for the use of a notary seal or counterfeit seal on a fraudulent document or instrument.
WHAT IT DOES
A new Class A misdemeanor. Prosecute under “this section, the other law, or both.”
The bill creates a new Class A misdemeanor offense for knowingly putting a real or fake notary seal on a document that state law already presumes to be fraudulent, and then filing or trying to file it with a court or local clerk. It touches anyone who files documents with state court clerks, district clerks, county clerks or municipal clerks, and it defines a fake seal to include photocopies and scanned or electronic copies of a real seal. Starting September 1, 2025, prosecutors gain one more charge option for this conduct, and the bill says it can be stacked with any other law that covers the same act.
CHARGES
[x] ALREADY A CRIMEanalysis confidence 50%
THE TEXT
“If conduct that constitutes an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both.”
Bill text, introduced version (I)
The bill itself expects overlap with other offenses. Based on general knowledge of Texas law, not the bill text, filing a fraudulent document with a forged seal is likely already reached by existing forgery and tampering-with-a-governmental-record offenses.
TOTAL
No fiscal note in the loaded record.
HISTORY
- Filed
- Read first time
- Referred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
FILED UNDER
No verified beat found.
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 31, 2024 to Oct 22, 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.
Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$434,355.69
Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC
$434,355.69
- Cash
- $185,000.00
- Paid by others
- $249,355.69
- Total
- $434,355.69
Also funds 124 other sitting lawmakers.
Derived recipient stock · Jul 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.
TEC account match.
TeamSources
Derived itemized flow · Jun 23, 2025 to Oct 16, 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: 101007596, 101032794, 101035908, 101040770, 101058009, 101071193.
Texas Sands PAC$154,250.00
Texas Sands PAC
$154,250.00
- Cash
- $137,000.00
- Paid by others
- $17,250.00
- Total
- $154,250.00
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.
TeamSources
Derived itemized flow · Dec 9, 2024 to Oct 22, 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: 101012337, 101032794, 101035908, 101071193.
Dustin Burrows Campaign$136,250.00
Dustin Burrows Campaign
$136,250.00
- Cash
- $119,000.00
- Paid by others
- $17,250.00
- Total
- $136,250.00
Also funds 39 other sitting lawmakers.
Derived recipient stock · Sep 13, 2025 to Sep 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.
Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.
TeamSources
Derived itemized flow · Sep 13, 2025 to Jan 28, 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: 101032794, 101040770.
Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.
Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC
$434,355.69
- Cash
- $185,000.00
- Paid by others
- $249,355.69
- Total
- $434,355.69
Also funds 124 other sitting lawmakers.
Derived recipient stock · Jul 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.
TEC account match.
TeamSources
Derived itemized flow · Jun 23, 2025 to Oct 16, 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: 101007596, 101032794, 101035908, 101040770, 101058009, 101071193.
Texas Sands PAC
$154,250.00
- Cash
- $137,000.00
- Paid by others
- $17,250.00
- Total
- $154,250.00
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.
TeamSources
Derived itemized flow · Dec 9, 2024 to Oct 22, 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: 101012337, 101032794, 101035908, 101071193.
Dustin Burrows Campaign
$136,250.00
- Cash
- $119,000.00
- Paid by others
- $17,250.00
- Total
- $136,250.00
Also funds 39 other sitting lawmakers.
Derived recipient stock · Sep 13, 2025 to Sep 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.
Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.
TeamSources
Derived itemized flow · Sep 13, 2025 to Jan 28, 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: 101032794, 101040770.
Votes
No floor vote loaded for this bill.
Fiscal
No fiscal note in the loaded record.
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 Mar 12, 2025
04/03/2025 H Referred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence: Apr 3 2025 12:38PM
Texas Legislature Online · Introduced
Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:19 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.
House committee · Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence · Final status: Died in committee
Companion
SB 693 by West (identical)
Subjects
Crimes--Miscellaneous
Notaries
Text
The text as introduced · 260 words
89R4149 JTZ-D By: Orr H.B. No. 4654 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to creating a criminal offense for the use of a notary seal or counterfeit seal on a fraudulent document or instrument. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 406, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 406.027 to read as follows: Sec. 406.027. USE OF NOTARY SEAL OR COUNTERFEIT SEAL ON FRAUDULENT DOCUMENT OR INSTRUMENT; CRIMINAL OFFENSE. (a) For purposes of this section, "counterfeit seal" means a mark identical to or substantially indistinguishable from a notary seal that the secretary of state did not provide to or otherwise authorize use by the individual who affixed the mark, including a photocopy, scanned image, or other electronic copy of a notary seal. (b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly: (1) affixes a notary seal or counterfeit seal to a document or instrument presumed to be fraudulent under Section 51.901(c)(2); and (2) files, records, or attempts to file or record the document or instrument with a clerk of the supreme court, clerk of the court of criminal appeals, clerk of a court of appeals, district clerk, county clerk, district and county clerk, or municipal clerk. (c) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor. (d) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both. SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.