SB 1563: county jailers get training on dealing with veterans

Caption

relating to county jailer training on interacting with veterans in the criminal justice system.

Summary

Already licensed jailers finish it by August 31, 2027.

The bill orders the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, working with the Texas Veterans Commission, to build a training program for county jailers on dealing with veterans in the criminal justice system. New county jailers must take that training as part of their required preparatory course, and jailers already licensed must complete it by August 31, 2027. Every county jail in Texas gets staff trained on handling veterans in custody, starting with the law taking effect September 1, 2025.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB1563 · 2025-02-21

SOLD BY

Sen. José MenéndezDSenate 26

+ 3 coauthors

ITEM

relating to county jailer training on interacting with veterans in the criminal justice system.

WHAT IT DOES

Already licensed jailers finish it by August 31, 2027.

The bill orders the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, working with the Texas Veterans Commission, to build a training program for county jailers on dealing with veterans in the criminal justice system. New county jailers must take that training as part of their required preparatory course, and jailers already licensed must complete it by August 31, 2027. Every county jail in Texas gets staff trained on handling veterans in custody, starting with the law taking effect September 1, 2025.

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 24, 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

Feb 21, 2025Received by the Secretary of the Senate
Feb 21, 2025Filed
Mar 6, 2025Read first time
Mar 6, 2025Referred to Criminal Justice
Mar 25, 2025Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
Mar 25, 2025Considered in public hearing
Mar 25, 2025Testimony taken in committee
Mar 25, 2025Vote taken in committee
Mar 31, 2025Reported favorably w/o amendments
Mar 31, 2025Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
Mar 31, 2025Committee report printed and distributed
Apr 1, 2025Co-author authorized
Apr 1, 2025Placed on intent calendar
Apr 2, 2025Co-author authorized
Apr 2, 2025Rules suspended-Regular order of business
Apr 2, 2025Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
Apr 2, 2025Vote recorded in Journal
Apr 2, 2025Three day rule suspended
Apr 2, 2025Record vote
Apr 2, 2025Read 3rd time
Apr 2, 2025Passed
Apr 2, 2025Record vote
Apr 2, 2025Reported engrossed
Apr 3, 2025Received from the Senate
Apr 9, 2025Read first time
Apr 9, 2025Referred to s/c on County & Regional Government by Speaker
Apr 28, 2025Scheduled for public hearing in s/c on . . .
Apr 28, 2025Considered by s/c in public hearing
Apr 28, 2025Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in subcommittee
Apr 28, 2025Left pending in subcommittee
May 16, 2025Recalled from subcommittee
May 16, 2025Considered in formal meeting
May 16, 2025Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
May 20, 2025Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
May 20, 2025Committee report distributed
May 21, 2025Committee report sent to Calendars
May 22, 2025Considered in Calendars
May 24, 2025Placed on General State Calendar
May 27, 2025Rules suspended
May 27, 2025Additional sponsor(s) authorized
May 27, 2025Read 2nd time
May 27, 2025Passed to 3rd reading
May 27, 2025Record vote RV#3722
May 27, 2025Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
May 28, 2025Read 3rd time
May 28, 2025Passed
May 28, 2025Record vote RV#3852
May 28, 2025Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
May 28, 2025House passage reported
May 28, 2025Reported enrolled
May 30, 2025Signed in the Senate
Jun 1, 2025Signed in the House
Jun 1, 2025Sent to the Governor
Jun 20, 2025Signed by the Governor
Jun 20, 2025Effective on 9/1/25

FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 96 yea · 44 nay

Senate · 31 yea · 0 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 28, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · Apr 2, 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

José Menéndez

Donors

Kickapoo Traditional Tribes of Texas$25K Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$20K Texas 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 Oct 5, 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.

Kickapoo Traditional Tribes of Texas$25,000.00

Kickapoo Traditional Tribes of Texas

$25,000.00

Cash: $25,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $25,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · on Jan 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 Jan 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: 101065471.

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$20,000.00

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$20,000.00

Cash: $20,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $20,000.00

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 12, 2024 to Oct 5, 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: 101012370, 101032316, 101072614.

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 2, 2025. 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: 101032316.

Money

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

×

Kickapoo Traditional Tribes of Texas

$25,000.00

Cash: $25,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $25,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · on Jan 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 Jan 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: 101065471.

×

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$20,000.00

Cash: $20,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $20,000.00

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 12, 2024 to Oct 5, 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: 101012370, 101032316, 101072614.

×

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 2, 2025. 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: 101032316.

Votes5

House May 28, 2025

Yea: 96
Nay: 44
Present, not voting: 2
Absent: 2
Excused: 6

Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3852

SB 1563 was passed by (Record 3852): 96 Yeas, 44 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

Yea: 96 (published)
Nay: 44 (published)
Present, not voting: 2 (published)
Absent: 2 (derived from named list)
Excused: 6 (derived from named list)

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

House May 27, 2025

Yea: 80
Nay: 64
Present, not voting: 2
Absent: 0
Excused: 4

Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3722

SB 1563 was passed to third reading by (Record 3722): 80 Yeas, 64 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

Yea: 80 (published)
Nay: 64 (published)
Present, not voting: 2 (published)
Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
Excused: 4 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 2, 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 Menéndez moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 1563 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 2, 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 Menéndez moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 1563 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 2, 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.

Witnesses27

For: 23
Against: 0
On: 4

Names

For

Bexar County Commissioners Court1 registration
Conference of Urban Counties2 registrations
Dallas County1 registration
Dallas County Commissioners Court1 registration
El Paso County1 registration
Equity Action1 registration
Harris County Commissioners Court2 registrations
Self4 registrations
Self; Austin justice coalition1 registration
Self; Sheriffs Association of Texas1 registration
Self; The VOICES of Our Veterans1 registration
Self; VFW Department of Texas1 registration
Self; VFW Dept of Texas1 registration
Sheriffs’ Association of Texas1 registration
Texas Civil Rights Project1 registration
Texas Council of Community Centers2 registrations
The American Legion, Dept of Texas1 registration

On

Self; Texas Coalition of Veterans Organizations1 registration
Texas Commission on Law Enforcement1 registration
Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA)1 registration
Texas Veterans Commission1 registration

Sources

27 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 significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · April 24, 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 21, 2025

06/20/2025 E Effective on 9/1/25

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

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

Coauthors

Sarah EckhardtDSenate 14

Brent HagenbuchRSenate 30

Juan "Chuy" HinojosaDSenate 20

Companion

HB 1597 by Plesa (identical)

Subjects

Corrections--Jails & Prisons

Military & Veterans

Occupational Regulation--Other Trades & Professions

JAILERS & PRISON GUARDS

STAFF DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING

LAW ENFORCEMENT, TEXAS COMMISSION ON

VETERANS COMMISSION, TEXAS

Text

The text as introduced · 284 words

89R2966 CMO-D

By: Menéndez
S.B. No. 1563

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to county jailer training on interacting with veterans in

the criminal justice system.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is

amended by adding Section 1701.273 to read as follows:

Sec. 1701.273. TRAINING PROGRAM RELATING TO COUNTY JAILER

INTERACTIONS WITH VETERANS. The commission shall, in consultation

with the Texas Veterans Commission, develop a training program for

county jailers on interacting with veterans in the criminal justice

system.

SECTION 2. Section 1701.310(a), Occupations Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), a person may not

be appointed as a county jailer, except on a temporary basis, unless

the person has satisfactorily completed a preparatory training

program, as required by the commission, in the operation of a county

jail at a school operated or licensed by the commission. The

training program must :

(1) consist of at least eight hours of mental health

training approved by the commission and the Commission on Jail

Standards ; and

(2) include the training program developed under

Section 1701.273 .

SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies to

a county jailer licensed under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code,

regardless of whether the license was issued before, on, or after

the effective date of this Act.

(b) A county jailer who, on the effective date of this Act,

holds a county jailer license shall complete the training program

described by Section 1701.273, Occupations Code, as added by this

Act, not later than August 31, 2027.

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

Verdict: No flags

The receipt

SOLD BY

ITEM

WHAT IT DOES

CHARGES

TOTAL

HISTORY

SIGNED FOR BY

Donors

Kickapoo Traditional Tribes of Texas

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

Kickapoo Traditional Tribes of Texas

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

House May 28, 2025

House May 27, 2025

Senate Apr 2, 2025

Senate Apr 2, 2025

Senate Apr 2, 2025

For

On

Companion