HB 349 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to civil liability for removing certain individuals or animals from a motor vehicle.

HB 349 creates legal immunity for people who enter a locked motor vehicle to remove a vulnerable individual (like a child under 7 or someone with a disability) or a domestic animal (like a pet dog or cat) from a car. To qualify for immunity, rescuers must first confirm the vehicle is locked or the person/animal cannot exit safely, reasonably believe immediate harm is occurring, notify law enforcement or 911 before entering (unless they are first responders), use only necessary force, and stay with the person/animal until help arrives. The law specifically protects ordinary citizens - not just police - from civil lawsuits when following these steps. It does not apply to livestock or cases where authorities advise against entry.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 28, 2025 Last action May 5, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Engrossed · 4 edits · May 1, 2025
MODERATE
This bill updates the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code to clarify and modernize the legal protections for individuals who remove vulnerable people or animals from locked motor vehicles. The changes primarily involve formatting improvements and renumbering of sections, with no substantive policy changes to the liability protections themselves.
Scope change
No substantive change to scope or applicability; the bill maintains the same protections for removing vulnerable individuals or animals from motor vehicles.
TECHNICAL

Formatting and numbering corrections throughout the document, including updating section references and removing redundant text.

Added accessibility compliance statement regarding WCAG 2.1 standards for digital content.

Updated bill header information to reflect the engrossed version status and corrected sponsor attribution formatting.

DEFINITION

Minor renumbering of the 'Vulnerable individual' definition subsection from (3) to (2) to align with proper legislative numbering conventions.

Floor votes · House Apr 30, 2025

How they voted

9145
Passed · 7 other
Total votes 143
Apr 30, 2025
D Democratic59
55 Yea 2 Nay 2
93% Yea
R Republican84
36 Yea 43 Nay 5
51% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
26
Key actions
7
Committee
7
May 5, 2025
Committee
Referred to State Affairs
upper
May 5, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
May 5, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
Apr 30, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment
lower
Mar 25, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
Mar 25, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Mar 19, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
Mar 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Mar 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Feb 28, 2025
Committee
Referred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
lower
Feb 28, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
4 primary · 9 co-sponsors

Sponsors