Monitoring the Session

SB 1497

bill saying card skimmers aren’t wireless communications devices

Became law, effective Sep 1, 2025

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Sen. Robert NicholsRSenate 3

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 search of certain wireless communications devices by a peace officer.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

A cell phone still needs a warrant. Skimmers don’t.

The bill keeps the rule that a peace officer needs a warrant to search a cell phone or other wireless device taken from a person during an arrest. It adds that a card skimmer, as defined in the Business & Commerce Code, does not count as a wireless communications device under that rule. Officers who arrest someone carrying a skimmer can search it without a warrant, while phones stay protected by the warrant requirement.

Labels

Labels: CROSS-PARTY HANDOFF. Lead author Robert Nichols (R) in the Senate. Lead sponsor Mary Ann Perez (D) in the House. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.QUICK READ: 110 WORDS. The bill as filed runs 110 words, counting the existing law it amends and the text it strikes. The median 89R bill as filed runs 441 words (derived, 8,702 graded bills, snapshot Oct 19, 2026).

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB1497 · 2025-02-20

SOLD BY

Sen. Robert NicholsRSenate 3

+ 3 coauthors

ITEM

relating to the search of certain wireless communications devices by a peace officer.

WHAT IT DOES

A cell phone still needs a warrant. Skimmers don’t.

The bill keeps the rule that a peace officer needs a warrant to search a cell phone or other wireless device taken from a person during an arrest. It adds that a card skimmer, as defined in the Business & Commerce Code, does not count as a wireless communications device under that rule. Officers who arrest someone carrying a skimmer can search it without a warrant, while phones stay protected by the warrant requirement.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · 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. Received by the Secretary of the Senate
  2. Filed
  3. Read first time
  4. Referred to Criminal Justice
  5. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  6. Considered in public hearing
  7. Testimony taken in committee
  8. Vote taken in committee
  9. Reported favorably as substituted
  10. Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
  11. Committee report printed and distributed
  12. Co-author authorized
  13. Co-author authorized
  14. Placed on intent calendar
  15. Not again placed on intent calendar
  16. Co-author authorized
  17. Placed on intent calendar
  18. Rules suspended-Regular order of business
  19. Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
  20. Vote recorded in Journal
  21. Three day rule suspended
  22. Record vote
  23. Read 3rd time
  24. Passed
  25. Record vote
  26. Reported engrossed
  27. Received from the Senate
  28. Read first time
  29. Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
  30. Considered in formal meeting
  31. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  32. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  33. Committee report distributed
  34. Committee report sent to Calendars
  35. Considered in Calendars
  36. Placed on General State Calendar
  37. Read 2nd time
  38. Passed to 3rd reading
  39. Record vote RV#2964
  40. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  41. Read 3rd time
  42. Passed
  43. Record vote RV#3034
  44. House passage reported
  45. Reported enrolled
  46. Signed in the Senate
  47. Signed in the House
  48. Sent to the Governor
  49. Signed by the Governor
  50. Effective on 9/1/25
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 146 yea · 0 nay

Senate · 31 yea · 0 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 20, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · Apr 1, 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

Robert Nichols

Donors

James I Perkins$25,000Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. PAC$10KTexas REALTORS Political Action Committee$10K

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 · Jul 2, 2024 to Mar 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.

James I Perkins$25,000.00
Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. PAC$10,000.00

Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. PAC

$10,000.00

Cash
$10,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$10,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Dec 5, 2024 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 5, 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: 100965387.

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee$10,000.00

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

$10,000.00

Cash
$10,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$10,000.00

Also funds 140 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 2, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 5, 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: 100965387.

Money

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

×

Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. PAC

$10,000.00

Cash
$10,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$10,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Dec 5, 2024 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 5, 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: 100965387.

×

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

$10,000.00

Cash
$10,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$10,000.00

Also funds 140 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 2, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 5, 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: 100965387.

Votes5

House May 20, 2025

Yea
146
Nay
0
Present, not voting
3
Absent
0
Excused
1
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3034

SB 1497 was passed by (Record 3034): 146 Yeas, 0 Nays, 3 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 146 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 3 (published)
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 1 (derived from named list)

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

House May 19, 2025

Yea
139
Nay
0
Present, not voting
2
Absent
5
Excused
4
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 2964

SB 1497 was passed to third reading by (Record 2964): 139 Yeas, 0 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 139 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 5 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 4 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 1, 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 Nichols moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that CSSB 1497 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 Apr 1, 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 Nichols moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that CSSB 1497 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 Apr 1, 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 engrossment 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.

Witnesses10
For
10
Against
0
On
0
Names

For

  • Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT)1 registration
  • Harris County Deputies’ Organization FOP #391 registration
  • San Antonio Police Department1 registration
  • Self2 registrations
  • Self; Houston Police Officers’ Union1 registration
  • Self; Smith County Criminal Disrtict Attorney1 registration
  • Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center1 registration
  • Texas Food & Fuel Association1 registration
  • Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA)1 registration
Sources

10 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.

Senate witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Fiscal

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · 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 Senate · Filed Feb 20, 2025

05/30/2025 E Effective on 9/1/25

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · Senate Committee Report · Engrossed · House Committee Report · Enrolled

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

Coauthors
César BlancoDSenate 29 Borris MilesDSenate 13 Tan ParkerRSenate 12
Sponsors
Mary Ann PerezDHouse 144

House committee · Criminal Jurisprudence · Committee vote 10 aye, 0 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

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

Companion

HB 3111 by Perez, Mary Ann (identical)

Subjects

Criminal Procedure--General

Law Enforcement

ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT

SEARCH WARRANTS

Text

The text as introduced · 110 words

89R9221 JDK-D

By: Nichols
S.B. No. 1497

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the search of certain wireless communications devices

by a peace officer.

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

SECTION 1. Article 18.0215(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,

is amended to read as follows:

(a) A peace officer may not search a person's cellular

telephone or other wireless communications device, pursuant to a

lawful arrest of the person without obtaining a warrant under this

article. A wireless communications device does not include a

skimmer as defined by Section 607.001, Business & Commerce Code.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.