SB 1138 Texas Senate · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to first responder policies for emergencies occurring at a group home in certain municipalities and counties.

SB 1138 requires law enforcement, fire departments, and emergency medical services in municipalities located within counties of over 300,000 people to develop response policies for emergencies at group homes. These policies must apply regardless of whether the group home holds a license, and must account for the specific nature of group home settings. The bill applies only to large counties and municipalities as defined in the legislation. The policy changes would take effect September 1, 2025.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 6, 2025 Last action Apr 28, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 4 edits · Apr 24, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was reformatted from a draft introduction to an official engrossed version with corrected line numbers and proper legislative formatting. The substantive policy content remains the same, establishing requirements for first responders to develop emergency response policies for group homes in certain municipalities and counties.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include county law enforcement agencies, county fire departments, and county emergency medical services departments, in addition to municipal agencies. The applicability is now limited to municipalities located in counties with populations exceeding 300,000.

SCOPE

Expanded applicability from municipal departments only to include county law enforcement, county fire departments, and county emergency medical services departments.

ELIGIBILITY

Added eligibility requirement that the section applies only to municipalities located wholly or partly in counties with populations exceeding 300,000.

TECHNICAL

Changed chapter reference from Chapter 349 to Chapter 370 of the Local Government Code.

Added Section 2 clarifying legislative intent to harmonize amendments with other Acts of the 89th Legislature.

Floor votes

How they voted

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

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 28, 2025

Committee

Referred to Intergovernmental Affairs

lower

Apr 28, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

lower

Apr 25, 2025

Introduced

Received from the Senate

lower

Apr 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

Apr 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee report printed and distributed

upper

Apr 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably as substituted

upper

Apr 8, 2025

Upper · Passed

Vote taken in committee

upper

Apr 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

Left pending in committee

upper

Apr 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

Testimony taken in committee

upper

Feb 24, 2025

Committee

Referred to Health & Human Services

upper

Feb 24, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors