Monitoring the Session

SB 816

Emergency data disclosure authority tied to state alerts

Did not pass

Verdict: No flags

No flagsReviewed
Sen. Joan HuffmanRSenate 17

Editor's call: No flags. On Nov 1, 2026 the editor checked this charge against the bill's caption and removed it.

Corrected Nov 1, 2026

Corrected Nov 1, 2026 · We checked this summary against the bill text and fixed it.

Reviewed · Nov 1, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to authorizing the disclosure of certain electronic customer data by a provider of an electronic communications service or a remote computing service in certain immediate life-threatening situations.

Caption from analyzed text · version H.

Summary

Providers need good-faith belief disclosure would help prevent death or serious injury.

The bill lets phone, internet and cloud companies hand a customer's electronic data to police, without a warrant, when the company believes in good faith that someone faces an immediate threat of death or serious injury and a state alert has been issued for that person. It touches every Texan who uses these services, the companies that hold the data, and police agencies. On the ground, companies can share data faster in emergencies, and no one can sue a company for a disclosure the bill allows.

Labels

Labels: GOT HALFWAY. Passed the Senate on Apr 29, 2025. Died in the House: voted out of the Criminal Jurisprudence committee 8-2, no floor vote.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB816 · 2025-01-16

SOLD BY

Sen. Joan HuffmanRSenate 17

ITEM

relating to authorizing the disclosure of certain electronic customer data by a provider of an electronic communications service or a remote computing service in certain immediate life-threatening situations.

WHAT IT DOES

Providers need good-faith belief disclosure would help prevent death or serious injury.

The bill lets phone, internet and cloud companies hand a customer's electronic data to police, without a warrant, when the company believes in good faith that someone faces an immediate threat of death or serious injury and a state alert has been issued for that person. It touches every Texan who uses these services, the companies that hold the data, and police agencies. On the ground, companies can share data faster in emergencies, and no one can sue a company for a disclosure the bill allows.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · May 22, 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. Placed on intent calendar
  13. Placed on local & uncontested calendar
  14. Rules suspended-Regular order of business
  15. Record vote
  16. Read 2nd time
  17. Amendment(s) offered FA1 Huffman
  18. Amended
  19. Vote recorded in Journal
  20. Passed to engrossment as amended
  21. Record vote
  22. Three day rule suspended
  23. Record vote
  24. Read 3rd time
  25. Passed
  26. Record vote
  27. Reported engrossed
  28. Received from the Senate
  29. Read first time
  30. Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
  31. Considered in formal meeting
  32. Committee substitute considered in committee
  33. Reported favorably as substituted
  34. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  35. Committee report distributed
  36. Committee report sent to Calendars
  37. Considered in Calendars
  38. Placed on General State Calendar
FILED UNDER

SURVEILLANCE STATE

THE TEXT

…“may disclose electronic customer data to a law enforcement agency”…

Bill text, House committee report version (H)

The bill opens a path for private service providers to give customer data to police without a court order when the provider judges there is an emergency and a state alert is out.

SPEECH AND LAWFARE

THE TEXT

“A person does not have a cause of action against a”…

Bill text, House committee report version (H)

The bill shields providers and their staff from lawsuits over disclosures made under the new emergency rule.

SIGNED FOR BY

Senate · 27 yea · 4 nay

Sources

Senate: Final passage · Apr 29, 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

Joan Huffman

Donors

Donors report through Texans for Joan Huffman.

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 · Oct 27, 2024 to Jun 30, 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.

Money

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

Votes4

Senate Apr 29, 2025

Yea
27
Nay
4
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
0
Excused
0
Names

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

Senate journal

Sources

The bill was read third time and was passed by the following vote: Yeas 27, Nays 4. (Same as previous roll call)

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

  • Yea: 27 (published)
  • Nay: 4 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 29, 2025

Yea
27
Nay
4
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
0
Excused
0
Names

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

Senate journal

Sources

Senator Huffman moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that CSSB 816 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 27, Nays 4.

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

  • Yea: 27 (published)
  • Nay: 4 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 29, 2025

Yea
27
Nay
4
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
0
Excused
0
Names

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

Senate journal

Sources

CSSB 816 as amended was passed to engrossment by the following vote: Yeas 27, Nays 4.

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

  • Yea: 27 (published)
  • Nay: 4 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 29, 2025

Yea
27
Nay
4
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
0
Excused
0
Names

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

Senate journal

Sources

Senator Huffman moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up for consideration CSSB 816 at this time on its second reading: CSSB 816, Relating to authorizing the disclosure of certain electronic customer data by a provider of an electronic communications service or a remote computing service in certain immediate life-threatening situations. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 27, Nays 4.

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

  • Yea: 27 (published)
  • Nay: 4 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

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

Witnesses14
For
11
Against
3
On
0
Names

For

  • City of Austin1 registration
  • Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT)1 registration
  • Dallas County Criminal District Attorney-John Creuzot1 registration
  • Dallas Police Assoc1 registration
  • Houston Police Department1 registration
  • Self; Chambers County District Attorney’s Office1 registration
  • Self; Houston Police Officers’ Union1 registration
  • Self; Sheriffs’ Association of Texas1 registration
  • Texas Fire Chiefs Association1 registration
  • Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA)1 registration
  • Texas Police Chiefs Association1 registration

Against

  • Self; Austin justice coalition1 registration
  • Self; Equity Action1 registration
  • Texas Civil Rights Project1 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.

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

Fiscal

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · May 22, 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 Jan 16, 2025

05/27/2025 H Placed on General State Calendar

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

Data snapshot Nov 1, 2026 at 10:30 AM CST. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

Sponsors
Sam HarlessRHouse 126

House committee · Criminal Jurisprudence · Committee vote 8 aye, 2 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

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

Companion

HB 2177 by Harless (identical)

Subjects

Crimes--Against Persons--General

Electronic Information Systems

Occupational Regulation--Other Trades & Professions

Protection of Personal Information

Utilities--Telecommunications

COMPUTERS & SOFTWARE

EMAIL & ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

Text

The text as introduced · 366 words

89R7698 JCG-F

By: Huffman
S.B. No. 816

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to authorizing the disclosure of certain electronic

customer data by a provider of an electronic communications service

or a remote computing service in certain immediate life-threatening

situations.

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

SECTION 1. Articles 18B.502(a) and (b), Code of Criminal

Procedure, are amended to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c) and Article

18B.5025 , a provider of an electronic communications service may

not knowingly divulge the contents of a communication that is in

electronic storage.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c) and Article

18B.5025 , a provider of a remote computing service may not

knowingly divulge the contents of a communication that:

(1) is in electronic storage on behalf of a subscriber

or customer of the service provider;

(2) is received by means of electronic transmission

from the subscriber or customer or created by means of computer

processing of communications received by means of electronic

transmission from the subscriber or customer; and

(3) is solely for the purpose of providing storage or

computer processing services to the subscriber or customer, if the

service provider is not authorized to obtain access to the contents

of that communication for purposes of providing any service other

than storage or computer processing.

SECTION 2. Subchapter K, Chapter 18B, Code of Criminal

Procedure, is amended by adding Article 18B.5025 to read as

follows:

Art. 18B.5025. DISCLOSURE IN IMMEDIATE LIFE-THREATENING

SITUATION. A provider of an electronic communications service or a

provider of a remote computing service may disclose electronic

customer data to a governmental entity if the provider in good faith

believes an immediate life-threatening situation exists that

requires the immediate disclosure of the electronic customer data

to assist in preventing any death or serious bodily injury that may

result from the immediate life-threatening situation.

SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply to a

disclosure of electronic customer data by a provider of an

electronic communications service or a remote computing service

made on or after the effective date of this Act.

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