Monitoring the Session

SB 456

buying or selling human organs becomes a state jail felony

Became law, effective Sep 1, 2025

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Sen. Mayes MiddletonRSenate 11

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 purchase or sale of human organs; increasing a criminal penalty.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Up from a Class A misdemeanor. Doctors who knowingly use one lose their license.

The bill raises the penalty for buying or selling human organs under the existing Penal Code section from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony. It also orders the Texas Medical Board to revoke the license of any physician who knowingly uses an organ obtained in violation of that section in a medical procedure. Starting September 1, 2025, organ sales carry felony exposure and doctors who knowingly use trafficked organs lose their licenses.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB456 · 2024-11-21

SOLD BY

Sen. Mayes MiddletonRSenate 11

+ 1 coauthor

ITEM

relating to the purchase or sale of human organs; increasing a criminal penalty.

WHAT IT DOES

Up from a Class A misdemeanor. Doctors who knowingly use one lose their license.

The bill raises the penalty for buying or selling human organs under the existing Penal Code section from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony. It also orders the Texas Medical Board to revoke the license of any physician who knowingly uses an organ obtained in violation of that section in a medical procedure. Starting September 1, 2025, organ sales carry felony exposure and doctors who knowingly use trafficked organs lose their licenses.

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 21, 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. Co-author authorized
  13. Placed on intent calendar
  14. Rules suspended-Regular order of business
  15. Vote recorded in Journal
  16. Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
  17. Vote recorded in Journal
  18. Three day rule suspended
  19. Record vote
  20. Read 3rd time
  21. Passed
  22. Record vote
  23. Reported engrossed
  24. Received from the Senate
  25. Read first time
  26. Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
  27. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  28. Considered in public hearing
  29. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
  30. Left pending in committee
  31. Considered in formal meeting
  32. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  33. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  34. Committee report distributed
  35. Committee report sent to Calendars
  36. Considered in Calendars
  37. Placed on General State Calendar
  38. Read 2nd time
  39. Passed to 3rd reading
  40. Record vote RV#3760
  41. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  42. Read 3rd time
  43. Passed
  44. Record vote RV#3873
  45. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  46. House passage reported
  47. Reported enrolled
  48. Signed in the Senate
  49. Signed in the House
  50. Sent to the Governor
  51. Signed by the Governor
  52. Effective on 9/1/25
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 140 yea · 0 nay

Senate · 30 yea · 1 nay

Sources

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

Senate: Final passage · May 6, 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

Mayes Middleton

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$1.14MRussell Gordy$300,000Kenneth Fisher$215,000

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 6, 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$1,140,000.00

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$1,140,000.00

Cash
$1,140,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$1,140,000.00

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 12, 2024 to Oct 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: 101009502, 101012383, 101061137, 101072395, 101072779.

Russell Gordy$300,000.00
Kenneth Fisher$215,000.00
Money

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

×

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$1,140,000.00

Cash
$1,140,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$1,140,000.00

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 12, 2024 to Oct 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: 101009502, 101012383, 101061137, 101072395, 101072779.

Votes5

House May 28, 2025

Yea
140
Nay
0
Present, not voting
1
Absent
2
Excused
7
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3873

SB 456 was passed by (Record 3873): 140 Yeas, 0 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 140 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 2 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 7 (derived from named list)

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

House May 27, 2025

Yea
139
Nay
0
Present, not voting
1
Absent
8
Excused
2
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3760

SB 456 was passed to third reading by (Record 3760): 139 Yeas, 0 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 139 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 8 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 2 (derived from named list)

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

Senate May 6, 2025

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.

Sources

The bill was read third time and was passed by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1. (Same as previous roll call)

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 May 6, 2025

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.

Sources

Senator Middleton moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 456 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.

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 May 6, 2025

Yea
Not printed
Nay
Not printed
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.

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

Sources

Senator Middleton moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up for consideration SB 456 at this time on its second reading: SB 456, Relating to the purchase or sale of human organs; increasing a criminal penalty. The motion prevailed. Senator Eckhardt asked to be recorded as voting "Nay" on suspension of the regular order of business. 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.

Witnesses23
For
21
Against
2
On
0
Names

For

  • Combating Global Organ Trafficking1 registration
  • Dallas Police Assoc2 registrations
  • Donate Life Texas2 registrations
  • Harris County Deputies' Organization FOP #391 registration
  • San Antonio Police Officers Association1 registration
  • San antonio police officers association1 registration
  • Self1 registration
  • Self; Combating Global Organ Trafficking1 registration
  • Self; Combating Global Organ Trafficking (CGOT)1 registration
  • Self; Houston Police Officers’ Union2 registrations
  • Self; Lake Dallas ISD1 registration
  • Self; Prosper ISD Police Department1 registration
  • Self; Sheriffs’ Association of Texas1 registration
  • Texas Alliance for Life1 registration
  • Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops1 registration
  • Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA)2 registrations
  • The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops1 registration

Against

  • Self2 registrations
Sources

23 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 21, 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 Nov 21, 2024

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
Bob HallRSenate 2
Sponsors
Janie LopezRHouse 37

House committee · Criminal Jurisprudence · Committee vote 9 aye, 0 nay, 2 absent · Out of committee

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

Subjects

Crimes--Against Persons--General

Criminal Procedure--Sentencing & Punishment

Occupational Regulation--Health Occupations

PHYSICIANS

MEDICAL BOARD, TEXAS

Text

The text as introduced · 286 words

89R3849 JDK-D

By: Middleton
S.B. No. 456

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the purchase or sale of human organs; increasing a

criminal penalty.

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

SECTION 1. Section 48.02(d), Penal Code, is amended to read

as follows:

(d) An offense under [ A violation of ] this section is a

state jail felony [ Class A misdemeanor ].

SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 164, Occupations Code, is

amended by adding Section 164.0571 to read as follows:

Sec. 164.0571. REQUIRED REVOCATION OF LICENSE FOR PROCEDURE

INVOLVING CERTAIN HUMAN ORGANS. The board shall revoke the license

of a physician if the physician knowingly uses a human organ

obtained in violation of Section 48.02, Penal Code, in a medical

procedure.

SECTION 3. Section 48.02(d), Penal Code, as amended 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 4. Section 164.0571, Occupations Code, as added by

this Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after the

effective date of this Act. Conduct that occurs before the

effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the

date the conduct occurred, and the former law is continued in effect

for that purpose.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.