Texas Senate bill by Sen. Huffman changes community supervision rules for stalking offenses

Passed bill authored by State Sen. Joan Huffman seeks to revise criminal procedure and health codes to adjust eligibility for community supervision and regulate certification and licensure related to stalking offenses, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the Senate, 10 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while one Democrat opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the House, 57 Democrats and 85 Republicans voted in favor, with no opposing votes.

Joan Huffman introduced the bill in the Texas Senate on Thursday, Jan. 30, during the 89th regular legislative session.

Huffman graduated from Louisiana State University with a BA and again from South Texas School of Law with a JD.

Huffman, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State Senate in 2008 to represent the state’s 17th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Kyle Janek.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to changing the eligibility for community supervision of a person convicted of stalking and to the offense of improper contact with the person’s victim’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and the Health and Safety Code to change the eligibility criteria for community supervision for individuals convicted of stalking. The bill includes stalking among the offenses for which certain defendants are ineligible for community supervision under Article 42A.054(a) and prescribes conditions under which a certificate holder’s certification will be revoked for certain criminal convictions or deferred adjudications. It gives the department authority to suspend or revoke an emergency medical services provider license for specific offenses, including those related to stalking. The bill stipulates that these changes apply only to offenses committed on or after its effective date, which is set for Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill received its final legislative approval on Tuesday, May 27, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, June 20.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.