Relating to reconstitution of the petit jury wheel and grand juror and petit juror qualifications and juror summoning in certain counties.
HB 4749 modifies jury qualification rules for counties with populations under 1,000. It allows residents of contiguous counties within the same judicial district to serve as grand jurors if they meet basic qualifications (e.g., voting eligibility, no felony convictions), removing the prior requirement that they must reside in the summoning county. The bill also permits random selection of jurors from these neighboring counties to create a fairer cross-section for small jurisdictions. These changes directly affect potential jurors and court operations in Texas counties with fewer than 1,000 residents. The law takes effect September 1, 2025.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Apr 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
Jun 2025
Signed into Law
Jun 2025
Introduced Apr 3, 2025
Signed Jun 20, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Engrossed
→
Enrolled
·
5 edits
·
Jun 20, 2025
MODERATE
This bill updates jury qualification laws to allow residents of small counties (population under 1,000) to serve on juries from neighboring contiguous counties. It also clarifies the requirements for petit (trial) jury service and modernizes formatting standards.
Scope change
The bill expands jury eligibility for small counties by allowing residents from contiguous counties within the same judicial district to serve, and updates the threshold for petit jury service from 6 days to 3 months in county court.
ELIGIBILITY
Added exception for counties with population under 1,000, allowing grand jurors to be selected from contiguous counties within the same judicial district.
Changed petit jury service requirement from 'six days during the preceding three months' to 'six days during the preceding three months in county court or during the preceding six months in district court'.
Added new exception for small counties (under 1,000 population) allowing residents from contiguous counties to serve as petit jurors if they are qualified to vote in the contiguous county.
TIMELINE
Set the effective date of the new law to September 1, 2025.
TECHNICAL
Updated formatting and removed outdated bill header information from the enrolled version.
Floor votes · House May 2, 2025
How they voted
This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
60
Key actions
18
Committee
11
Amendments
9
Jun 20, 2025
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor
executive
Jun 1, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed in the Senate
upper
May 31, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed in the House
lower
May 29, 2025
Introduced
House concurs in Senate amendment(s)-reported
upper
May 29, 2025
Introduced
Text of Senate Amendment(s)
lower
May 29, 2025
Introduced
House concurs in Senate amendment(s)
lower
May 27, 2025
Introduced
Senate Amendments Analysis distributed
lower
May 27, 2025
Introduced
Senate Amendments distributed
lower
May 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
Senate passage as amended reported
lower
May 26, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
May 26, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed to 3rd reading as amended
upper
May 26, 2025
Upper · Passed
Amended
upper
May 26, 2025
Introduced
Amendment(s) offered
upper
May 25, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
May 25, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendments
upper
May 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
May 8, 2025
Upper · Passed
Left pending in committee
upper
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 2, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
May 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment
lower
Apr 25, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
Apr 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Apr 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably as substituted
lower
Apr 9, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Apr 9, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Apr 3, 2025
Committee
Referred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
lower
Apr 3, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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