Relating to justice court security in certain counties.
HB 786 requires counties with 3.3 million or more residents (like Harris County) to install metal detectors and assign security personnel (constable, deputy, or sheriff) at every public entrance of justice courts. It mandates that counties first use existing courthouse security funds before tapping into general county revenue to cover these costs. The law takes effect September 1, 2025, directly impacting justice court operations in Texas' largest counties. This is a concrete security requirement with no funding or policy changes beyond the specified court access measures.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Mar 5, 2025
Last action May 5, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Engrossed
·
3 edits
·
May 1, 2025
MINOR
The bill text was reformatted and simplified, removing extraneous metadata and standardizing the layout. The core policy content regarding justice court security requirements remains substantively unchanged.
TECHNICAL
Removed bill metadata, page numbers, and formatting artifacts that were not part of the actual legislative text.
Standardized spacing, line breaks, and formatting throughout the document for clarity and consistency.
FISCAL
Removed language requiring the commissioners court to first use money from the courthouse security fund before using general revenue funds, now requiring use of general revenue funds directly.
Floor votes · House Apr 30, 2025
How they voted
99–40
Passed · 5 other
Total votes 144
Apr 30, 2025
D
Democratic59
93% Yea
R
Republican85
51% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
25
Key actions
9
Committee
6
Amendments
2
May 5, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
Apr 30, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment as amended
lower
Apr 30, 2025
Lower · Passed
Amended
lower
Apr 30, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (99-40-5)
house
Apr 25, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
Apr 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Apr 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
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 5, 2025
Committee
Referred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
lower
Mar 5, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
1 primary · 4 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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