Monitoring the Session

SB 857

officers can tow without arresting the driver

Became law, effective Sep 1, 2025

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Sen. Charles SchwertnerRSenate 5

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 authorized removal of certain motor vehicles.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Applies to driving in violation of certain listed Transportation Code sections.

The bill lets a peace officer or a state license and weight inspector tow a vehicle off a highway when the driver is operating it in violation of certain listed Transportation Code sections, even if the driver is not arrested. Based on the sections cited, this likely reaches drivers stopped with no valid license or without required proof of insurance. Starting September 1, 2025, a traffic stop for one of those listed violations can end with the car being towed on the spot.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB857 · 2025-01-22

SOLD BY

Sen. Charles SchwertnerRSenate 5

ITEM

relating to the authorized removal of certain motor vehicles.

WHAT IT DOES

Applies to driving in violation of certain listed Transportation Code sections.

The bill lets a peace officer or a state license and weight inspector tow a vehicle off a highway when the driver is operating it in violation of certain listed Transportation Code sections, even if the driver is not arrested. Based on the sections cited, this likely reaches drivers stopped with no valid license or without required proof of insurance. Starting September 1, 2025, a traffic stop for one of those listed violations can end with the car being towed on the spot.

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 · March 11, 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 Transportation
  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. Committee report printed and distributed
  11. Placed on intent calendar
  12. Rules suspended-Regular order of business
  13. Record vote
  14. Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
  15. Record vote
  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. Left pending in committee
  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#3815
  40. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  41. Read 3rd time
  42. Passed
  43. Record vote RV#3913
  44. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  45. House passage reported
  46. Reported enrolled
  47. Signed in the Senate
  48. Signed in the House
  49. Sent to the Governor
  50. Signed by the Governor
  51. Effective on 9/1/25
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 83 yea · 54 nay

Senate · 24 yea · 7 nay

Sources

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

Senate: Final passage · Apr 3, 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

Charles Schwertner

Donors

Donors report through Texans for Charles Schwertner.

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 1, 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.

Money

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

Votes6

House May 28, 2025

Yea
83
Nay
54
Present, not voting
2
Absent
4
Excused
7
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3913

SB 857 was passed by (Record 3913): 83 Yeas, 54 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 83 (published)
  • Nay: 54 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 4 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 7 (derived from named list)

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

House May 27, 2025

Yea
82
Nay
60
Present, not voting
1
Absent
4
Excused
3
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3815

SB 857 was passed to third reading by (Record 3815): 82 Yeas, 60 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 82 (published)
  • Nay: 60 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 4 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 3 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 3, 2025

Yea
24
Nay
7
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 24, Nays 7.

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

  • Yea: 24 (published)
  • Nay: 7 (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 3, 2025

Yea
25
Nay
6
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 Schwertner moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 857 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays 6.

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

  • Yea: 25 (published)
  • Nay: 6 (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 3, 2025

Yea
24
Nay
7
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 second time and was passed to engrossment by the following vote: Yeas 24, Nays 7. (Same as previous roll call)

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

  • Yea: 24 (published)
  • Nay: 7 (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 3, 2025

Yea
24
Nay
7
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 Schwertner moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up for consideration SB 857 at this time on its second reading: SB 857, Relating to the authorized removal of certain motor vehicles. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 24, Nays 7.

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

  • Yea: 24 (published)
  • Nay: 7 (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
1
On
2
Names

For

  • Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT)1 registration
  • Game Warden Peace Officers Association1 registration
  • Harris County Deputies' Organization FOP #392 registrations
  • Self; Houston Police Officers Union (HPOU)1 registration
  • Self; Houston Police Officers’ Union1 registration
  • Sheriffs' Association of Texas1 registration
  • Sheriffs’ Association of Texas1 registration
  • Texas Municipal Police Association1 registration
  • Texas Police Chiefs Association1 registration
  • TMPA1 registration

Against

  • Self1 registration

On

  • Texas Department of Public Safety1 registration
  • TX Dept of Public Safety1 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.

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 · March 11, 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 Jan 22, 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.

Sponsors
AJ LouderbackRHouse 30

House committee · Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs · Committee vote 8 aye, 3 nay · Out of committee

Senate committee · Transportation · Committee vote 9 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Subjects

Law Enforcement

Vehicles & Traffic--Driver's Licenses

Text

The text as introduced · 350 words

89R3007 AJZ-D

By: Schwertner
S.B. No. 857

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the authorized removal of certain motor vehicles.

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

SECTION 1. The heading to Section 545.305, Transportation

Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 545.305. AUTHORIZED REMOVAL OF CERTAIN MOTOR VEHICLES

[ UNLAWFULLY STOPPED VEHICLE ].

SECTION 2. Section 545.305(a), Transportation Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(a) A peace officer listed under Article 2A.001, Code of

Criminal Procedure, or a license and weight inspector of the

department may remove or require the operator or a person in charge

of a vehicle to move a vehicle from a highway if the vehicle:

(1) is unattended on a bridge, viaduct, or causeway or

in a tube or tunnel and the vehicle is obstructing traffic;

(2) is unlawfully parked and blocking the entrance to

a private driveway;

(3) has been reported as stolen;

(4) is identified as having been stolen in a warrant

issued on the filing of a complaint;

(5) is unattended and the officer has reasonable

grounds to believe that the vehicle has been abandoned for longer

than 48 hours;

(6) is disabled so that normal operation is impossible

or impractical and the owner or person in charge of the vehicle is:

(A) incapacitated and unable to provide for the

vehicle's removal or custody; or

(B) not in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle;

(7) is disabled so that normal operation is impossible

or impractical and the owner or person in charge of the vehicle does

not designate a particular towing or storage company;

(8) is operated by a person :

(A) an officer arrests for an alleged offense and

the officer is required by law to take the person into custody; or

(B) in violation of Section 521.021, 521.457,

601.191, or 729.002; or

(9) is, in the opinion of the officer, a hazard,

interferes with a normal function of a governmental agency, or

because of a catastrophe, emergency, or unusual circumstance is

imperiled.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.