The new offense is built entirely from conduct that Section 43.04 already makes an offense, so it adds no new prohibition. It does add a real change: a much harsher sentence and looser jury agreement rules, so the overlap is partial.
Built from conduct Section 43.04 already covers. Jurors needn’t agree on which acts or dates.
The bill creates a new offense for anyone who commits aggravated promotion of prostitution under Section 43.04 two or more times over a period of 30 days or more. It touches people prosecuted for running or profiting from prostitution operations involving several people, along with prosecutors and juries. On the ground, juries need not agree on which specific acts or dates happened, only that two or more happened in the window, and a conviction carries 25 to 99 years or life in prison starting September 1, 2025.
Labels
Labels: GOT HALFWAY. Passed the Senate on Apr 23, 2025. Died in the House: left pending in the Criminal Jurisprudence committee.
relating to the creation of the criminal offense of continuous
aggravated promotion of prostitution.
WHAT IT DOES
Built from conduct Section 43.04 already covers. Jurors needn’t agree on which acts or dates.
The bill creates a new offense for anyone who commits aggravated promotion of prostitution under Section 43.04 two or more times over a period of 30 days or more. It touches people prosecuted for running or profiting from prostitution operations involving several people, along with prosecutors and juries. On the ground, juries need not agree on which specific acts or dates happened, only that two or more happened in the window, and a conviction carries 25 to 99 years or life in prison starting September 1, 2025.
The new offense is built entirely from conduct that Section 43.04 already makes an offense, so it adds no new prohibition. It does add a real change: a much harsher sentence and looser jury agreement rules, so the overlap is partial.
TOTAL
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
Names were not printed for yea. Only the named positions are included in member records.
Sources
Senator Parker moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 957 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.
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 Parker moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up for consideration SB 957 at this time on its second reading: SB 957, Relating to the creation of the criminal offense of continuous aggravated promotion of prostitution. 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.
Witnesses14
For
12
Against
2
On
0
Names
For
BCFS Health and Human Services1 registration
Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT)1 registration
Dallas Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot1 registration
Harris County Deputies' Organization FOP #391 registration
Not On Our Watch Texas1 registration
Self2 registrations
Self; 106th Judicial District Attorney1 registration
House committee · Criminal Jurisprudence · Final status: Died in committee
Senate committee · Criminal Justice · Committee vote 7 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee
Subjects
Courts--Juries
Crimes--Against Persons--Sexual
Criminal Procedure--General
PROSTITUTION
Text
The text as introduced · 357 words
89R4212 EAS-F
By: Parker
S.B. No. 957
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of the criminal offense of continuous
aggravated promotion of prostitution.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 43, Penal Code, is amended
by adding Section 43.042 to read as follows:
Sec. 43.042. CONTINUOUS AGGRAVATED PROMOTION OF
PROSTITUTION. (a) A person commits an offense if, during a period
that is 30 or more days in duration, the person engages two or more
times in conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 43.04.
(b) If a jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury are
not required to agree unanimously on which specific conduct engaged
in by the defendant constituted an offense under Section 43.04 or on
which exact date the defendant engaged in that conduct. The jury
must agree unanimously that the defendant, during a period that is
30 or more days in duration, engaged two or more times in conduct
that constituted an offense under Section 43.04.
(c) If the victim of an offense under Subsection (a) is the
same victim as a victim of an offense under Section 43.04, a
defendant may not be convicted of the offense under Section 43.04 in
the same criminal action as the offense under Subsection (a),
unless the offense under Section 43.04:
(1) is charged in the alternative;
(2) occurred outside the period in which the offense
alleged under Subsection (a) was committed; or
(3) is considered by the trier of fact to be a lesser
included offense of the offense alleged under Subsection (a).
(d) A defendant may not be charged with more than one count
under Subsection (a) if all of the conduct that constitutes an
offense under Section 43.04 is alleged to have been committed
against the same victim.
(e) An offense under this section is a felony of the first
degree, punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice for life or for any term of not more than 99 years
or less than 25 years.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
Monitoring 