HB 1261 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to the disposition of abandoned or unclaimed property seized by a peace officer.

HB 1261 changes how Texas law enforcement handles property seized but not claimed after 30 days (if not used as evidence in a case). It requires county or municipal officials to notify owners via certified mail or online posting within 90 days, giving them time to claim items. For property valued at $500 or more with an unknown owner, a public notice must be published in local media or online. Proceeds from sales of unclaimed property, after deducting storage and disposal costs, will go to the local government treasury.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Mar 10, 2025 Signed May 29, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossed Enrolled · 3 edits · May 29, 2025
MINOR
The bill text was reformatted from a draft version to an enrolled version, with minor text cleanup and formatting adjustments. No substantive policy changes were made to the actual legislative content regarding abandoned property disposition procedures.
TECHNICAL

Header information was updated from draft format to enrolled format with proper bill numbering and version designation

Line breaks and spacing were adjusted throughout the document for final publication formatting

Some bracketed placeholder text was removed or standardized in the final enrolled version

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
52
Key actions
15
Committee
11
May 29, 2025
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor
executive
May 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed in the Senate
upper
May 19, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed in the House
lower
May 16, 2025
Lower · Passed
Senate passage reported
lower
May 16, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
May 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
May 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendments
upper
May 13, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
May 13, 2025
Upper · Passed
Testimony taken in committee
upper
Apr 29, 2025
Committee
Referred to Criminal Justice
upper
Apr 29, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
Apr 28, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
Apr 25, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
Apr 25, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment
lower
Apr 8, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Mar 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
Mar 26, 2025
Committee
Recommended to be sent to Local & Consent
lower
Mar 19, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Mar 19, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Mar 10, 2025
Committee
Referred to Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs
lower
Mar 10, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors