Monitoring the Session

SB 2569

police drone reports now go on a public website

Became law

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Sen. Pete FloresRSenate 24

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 reporting requirement for certain law enforcement agencies regarding the agencies' use or operation of an unmanned aircraft.

Caption from analyzed text · version H.

Summary

The governor, lieutenant governor and every legislator drop off the mailing list.

The bill changes the drone-use report that certain Texas police agencies must file every odd-numbered year. It covers state law enforcement agencies and county or city agencies in places with more than 150,000 people that flew a drone in the prior 24 months. Those agencies no longer have to send the report to the governor, the lieutenant governor and every legislator, and must instead post it on their public website or otherwise make it public if they have no website.

Labels

Labels: INSTANT LAW. Took effect immediately, on Jun 20, 2025. 833 of the 1,185 graded 89R laws took effect Sep 1, 2025 (derived from the bill histories, snapshot Oct 19, 2026).

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB2569 · 2025-03-13

SOLD BY

Sen. Pete FloresRSenate 24

ITEM

relating to the reporting requirement for certain law enforcement agencies regarding the agencies' use or operation of an unmanned aircraft.

WHAT IT DOES

The governor, lieutenant governor and every legislator drop off the mailing list.

The bill changes the drone-use report that certain Texas police agencies must file every odd-numbered year. It covers state law enforcement agencies and county or city agencies in places with more than 150,000 people that flew a drone in the prior 24 months. Those agencies no longer have to send the report to the governor, the lieutenant governor and every legislator, and must instead post it on their public website or otherwise make it public if they have no website.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 7, 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 w/o amendments
  10. Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
  11. Committee report printed and distributed
  12. Placed on intent calendar
  13. Placed on local & uncontested calendar
  14. Laid before the Senate
  15. Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
  16. Vote recorded in Journal
  17. Three day rule suspended
  18. Record vote
  19. Read 3rd time
  20. Passed
  21. Record vote
  22. Reported engrossed
  23. Received from the Senate
  24. Read first time
  25. Referred to Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs
  26. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  27. Considered in public hearing
  28. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
  29. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  30. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  31. Committee report distributed
  32. Committee report sent to Calendars
  33. Considered in Calendars
  34. Placed on General State Calendar
  35. Read 2nd time
  36. Passed to 3rd reading
  37. Record vote RV#3292
  38. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  39. Read 3rd time
  40. Passed
  41. Record vote RV#3368
  42. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  43. House passage reported
  44. Reported enrolled
  45. Signed in the Senate
  46. Signed in the House
  47. Sent to the Governor
  48. Signed by the Governor
  49. Effective immediately
FILED UNDER

SURVEILLANCE STATE

THE TEXT

…“report regarding the agency's use or operation of unmanned aircraft on the”…

Bill text, House committee report version (H)

The bill keeps the police drone-use report public but stops it from going directly to the governor, the lieutenant governor and lawmakers, so oversight now depends on the posted copy.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 122 yea · 15 nay

Senate · 30 yea · 1 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 23, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · Apr 16, 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

Pete Flores

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$55KMorris Jaffe$25,000Justin Jaffe$25,000

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 12, 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.

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$55,000.00

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$55,000.00

Cash
$55,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$55,000.00

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.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 13, 2024 to Oct 23, 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: 100985131, 101008112, 101072110.

Morris Jaffe$25,000.00
Justin Jaffe$25,000.00
Money

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

×

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$55,000.00

Cash
$55,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$55,000.00

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.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 13, 2024 to Oct 23, 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: 100985131, 101008112, 101072110.

Votes5

House May 23, 2025

Yea
122
Nay
15
Present, not voting
1
Absent
5
Excused
7
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3368

SB 2569 was passed by (Record 3368): 122 Yeas, 15 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 122 (published)
  • Nay: 15 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 5 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 7 (derived from named list)

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

House May 22, 2025

Yea
119
Nay
21
Present, not voting
2
Absent
5
Excused
3
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3292

SB 2569 was passed to third reading by (Record 3292): 119 Yeas, 21 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 119 (published)
  • Nay: 21 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 5 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 3 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 16, 2025

Final passage

Yea
30
Nay
1
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

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

Senate journal

Names were not printed for yea. Only the named positions are included in member records.

The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to engrossment, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records final passage. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Sources

SB 2569 (Flores) Relating to the reporting requirement for certain law enforcement agencies regarding the agencies' use or operation of an unmanned aircraft. (viva voce vote) (30-1) "Nay" Hughes (30-1) "Nay" Hughes

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

  • Yea: 30 (published)
  • Nay: 1 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

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

Senate Apr 16, 2025

Suspension of the three-day rule

Yea
30
Nay
1
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

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

Senate journal

Names were not printed for yea. Only the named positions are included in member records.

The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to engrossment, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records suspension of the three-day rule. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Sources

SB 2569 (Flores) Relating to the reporting requirement for certain law enforcement agencies regarding the agencies' use or operation of an unmanned aircraft. (viva voce vote) (30-1) "Nay" Hughes (30-1) "Nay" Hughes

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

  • Yea: 30 (published)
  • Nay: 1 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

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

Senate Apr 16, 2025

Passage to engrossment

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.

The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to engrossment, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records passage to engrossment. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Voice vote. No numeric tally or individual yeas are inferred.

Sources

SB 2569 (Flores) Relating to the reporting requirement for certain law enforcement agencies regarding the agencies' use or operation of an unmanned aircraft. (viva voce vote) (30-1) "Nay" Hughes (30-1) "Nay" Hughes

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
8
Against
0
On
2
Names

For

  • City of Fort Worth1 registration
  • City of San Antonio2 registrations
  • Harris County Commissioners Court2 registrations
  • Self; Equity Action1 registration
  • Self; Harris County Sheriff’s Office1 registration
  • Texas Civil Rights Project1 registration

On

  • Texas Department of Public Safety1 registration
  • Texas DPS1 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.

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 I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 7, 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 H by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 22, 2026, against the published rubric.

Sources

Texas Senate · Filed Mar 13, 2025

06/20/2025 E Effective immediately

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.

Sponsors
John LujanRHouse 118

House committee · Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs · Committee vote 6 aye, 0 nay, 5 absent · Out of committee

Senate committee · Criminal Justice · Committee vote 6 aye, 0 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Subjects

Aeronautics

Criminal Procedure--General

Electronic Information Systems

Law Enforcement

Transportation--Aviation

PUBLIC NOTICE

Text

The text as introduced · 245 words

89R16512 JRR-D

By: Flores
S.B. No. 2569

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the reporting requirement for certain law enforcement

agencies regarding the agencies' use or operation of an unmanned

aircraft.

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

SECTION 1. Section 423.008(a), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(a) Not earlier than January 1 and not later than January 15

of each odd-numbered year, each state law enforcement agency and

each county or municipal law enforcement agency located in a county

or municipality, as applicable, with a population greater than

150,000, that used or operated an unmanned aircraft during the

preceding 24 months shall [ issue a written report to the governor,

the lieutenant governor, and each member of the legislature and

shall:

[ (1) retain the report for public viewing; and

[ (2) ] post a [ the ] report regarding the agency's use or

operation of unmanned aircraft on the [ law enforcement ] agency's

publicly accessible Internet website or , if the agency does not

have a publicly accessible Internet website, otherwise make the

report available to the public [ one exists ].

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.