HB 3177 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to the office of inspector general in certain municipalities and the investigators of those offices.

HB 3177 would grant peace officer status to investigators working for municipal inspector general offices in Texas cities. This change would allow these investigators to exercise authority such as making arrests under state law, which they currently cannot do. The bill directly affects municipal inspector general offices and their investigators in cities that have established such offices. It amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to explicitly add "investigators of a municipal office of inspector general" to the list of peace officers.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

House Passage

May 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 20, 2025 Last action May 20, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 6 edits · May 12, 2025

MODERATE

This bill establishes peace officer status for investigators of municipal inspector general offices in large cities (over 1.2 million population) and clarifies their authority to investigate misconduct, with specific limitations when internal affairs units exist. It also updates the legal definition of peace officers and repeals conflicting prior legislation.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include municipal inspector general investigators as peace officers, but with a new population threshold of 1.2 million and a specific exemption when agencies have internal affairs units.

ELIGIBILITY

Investigators of municipal inspector general offices in cities with over 1.2 million population are now designated as peace officers.

ENFORCEMENT

Inspector general investigators cannot investigate misconduct if the employing agency already has an internal affairs or public integrity unit.

REQUIREMENT

Inspector general offices must report investigation findings to district attorneys, criminal district attorneys, or county attorneys.

Repealed previous legislation that defined peace officers differently, removing outdated categories and thresholds.

DEFINITION

Updated the legal definition of peace officers to include the new inspector general investigator role and renumbered existing categories.

TIMELINE

The act takes effect on September 1, 2025.

Floor votes · House May 12, 2025

How they voted

111–29

Passed · 4 other

Total votes 144

May 12, 2025

D Democratic59

57 Yea 2 Nay

96% Yea

R Republican85

54 Yea 27 Nay 4

63% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 20, 2025

Committee

Referred to Criminal Justice

upper

May 20, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

upper

May 12, 2025

Introduced

Received from the House

upper

May 12, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

May 9, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed to engrossment as amended

lower

May 9, 2025

Lower · Passed

Amended

lower

May 5, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report sent to Calendars

lower

May 2, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report distributed

lower

Apr 24, 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

Mar 20, 2025

Committee

Referred to Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs

lower

Mar 20, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

lower

4 primary · 0 co-sponsors