Monitoring the Session

HB 689

assault or robbery on a bus bumps the penalty

Did not pass

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Barbara Gervin-HawkinsDHouse 120

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 increasing the criminal penalty for certain offenses committed in a vehicle operated by a public transportation system.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

The same goes for sexual offenses on transit authority vehicles.

The bill raises the punishment one level for sexual offenses, assaultive offenses and robbery when they happen on a bus, train or other mass transit vehicle run by a transit authority created under certain Transportation Code chapters. It touches people charged with those offenses on public transit, and it sets a 180-day minimum jail term when the offense is a Class A misdemeanor, while first-degree felonies are not increased. Starting September 1, 2025, prosecutors can seek the higher punishment if they show at trial that the offense took place on a transit vehicle.

Labels

Labels: ZOMBIE BILL. Died 2 times: 88R HB 485 (Died in committee) 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 485 (Died in committee). 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.STALLED AFTER COMMITTEE. Voted out of the House Criminal Jurisprudence committee 7-4 on May 6, 2025. Placed on the General State Calendar on May 15, 2025. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB689 · 2024-11-12

SOLD BY

Rep. Barbara Gervin-HawkinsDHouse 120

ITEM

relating to increasing the criminal penalty for certain offenses committed in a vehicle operated by a public transportation system.

WHAT IT DOES

The same goes for sexual offenses on transit authority vehicles.

The bill raises the punishment one level for sexual offenses, assaultive offenses and robbery when they happen on a bus, train or other mass transit vehicle run by a transit authority created under certain Transportation Code chapters. It touches people charged with those offenses on public transit, and it sets a 180-day minimum jail term when the offense is a Class A misdemeanor, while first-degree felonies are not increased. Starting September 1, 2025, prosecutors can seek the higher punishment if they show at trial that the offense took place on a transit vehicle.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 30, 2025

Increasing the penalty for an existing offense may result in additional demands upon state 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 necessary to identify the prevalence of conduct that would be subject to an increased penalty under the bill's provisions.

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 public hearing
  11. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  12. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  13. Committee report distributed
  14. Committee report sent to Calendars
  15. Considered in Calendars
  16. Placed on General State Calendar
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

No flags

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.

Witnesses14
For
14
Against
0
On
0
Names

For

  • Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority1 registration
  • CapMetro2 registrations
  • City of San Antonio1 registration
  • Harris County District Attorney's Office1 registration
  • Houston Police Department1 registration
  • Self1 registration
  • Self; Atu local 10911 registration
  • Self; ATU Local 6941 registration
  • Self; Houston Police Officers’ Union1 registration
  • Self; Texas AFL-CIO1 registration
  • Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA)1 registration
  • Texas Transit Association1 registration
  • VIA Metropolitan1 registration
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.

Fiscal

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 30, 2025

Increasing the penalty for an existing offense may result in additional demands upon state 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 necessary to identify the prevalence of conduct that would be subject to an increased penalty under the bill's provisions.

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 485

by Rep. Gervin-Hawkins, same lead author · Died in committee · same text

Introduced text

Last action, Apr 25, 2023: Left pending in committee

Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for certain offenses committed in a vehicle operated by a public transportation system.

Caption, 88R bill history

Sources

Texas House · Filed Nov 12, 2024

05/15/2025 H Placed on General State Calendar

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 6:51 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

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

Subjects

Common Carriers

Crimes--Against Persons--General

Transportation--Mass Transit

Text

The text as introduced · 330 words

89R3709 AJZ-F

By: Gervin-Hawkins
H.B. No. 689

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to increasing the criminal penalty for certain offenses

committed in a vehicle operated by a public transportation system.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Penal Code, is amended

by adding Section 12.503 to read as follows:

Sec. 12.503. PENALTY IF OFFENSE COMMITTED IN PUBLIC

TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE. (a) Subject to Subsection (c), the

punishment for an offense described by Subsection (b) is increased

to the punishment prescribed for the next higher category of

offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the offense

was committed in a vehicle operated by an authority created under

Chapter 451, 452, 453, 457, 458, or 460, Transportation Code.

(b) The increase in punishment authorized by this section

applies only to an offense under Chapter 21, 22, or 29.

(c) If an offense described by Subsection (b) is punishable

as a Class A misdemeanor, the minimum term of confinement for the

offense is increased to 180 days. If an offense described by

Subsection (b) is punishable as a felony of the first degree, the

punishment for that offense may not be increased under this

section.

(d) For the purposes of this section, "vehicle" means a bus,

a railcar, rolling stock, or another vehicle used by the public for

mass transit purposes.

SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only

to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.

An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is

governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,

and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For

purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the

effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred

before that date.

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