SB 2798 Texas Senate · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to certain statutes of limitations for criminal offenses, including the statute of limitations for certain fraud offenses.

SB 2798 extends the "no statute of limitations" rule to specific fraud offenses under Texas law, meaning prosecutors can pursue these cases indefinitely without time limits. It directly affects defendants accused of certain fraud crimes and prosecutors handling such cases, as it removes the previous deadline for filing charges. The bill amends Article 12.01 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure to include these fraud offenses under existing categories where prosecution is permitted without time restrictions. The law became effective September 1, 2025, after being signed by the Governor on June 20, 2025.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

Senate Passage

May 2025

House Passage

May 2025

Signed into Law

Jun 2025

Introduced Mar 14, 2025 Signed Jun 20, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossed → Enrolled · 4 edits · Jun 20, 2025

MODERATE

This bill updates the statute of limitations for various criminal offenses in Texas, primarily to align with recent legislative changes and clarify time limits for prosecuting felonies. The changes affect how long prosecutors have to file charges for different crimes, including sexual offenses, fraud, and crimes against vulnerable populations.

Scope change

The bill expands and clarifies the time limits for prosecuting certain felonies, particularly those involving sexual offenses, fraud, and crimes against children or vulnerable individuals. Some time limits have been extended, while others have been shortened or reorganized.

TIMELINE

Updated statute of limitations periods for various felonies, including extending time limits for some offenses and shortening others based on new legislative requirements.

Set the effective date of the new statute of limitations rules to September 1, 2025.

ELIGIBILITY

Reorganized the classification of offenses into different time limit categories, affecting which crimes fall under which prosecution deadlines.

TECHNICAL

Added certification language confirming the bill passed both legislative chambers with specific vote counts and dates.

Introduced → Engrossed · 21 edits · Apr 24, 2025

MAJOR

This bill updates the statute of limitations for various criminal offenses in Texas, primarily extending time limits for prosecuting certain crimes while removing or renumbering others. The changes affect when prosecutors can file charges for felonies including theft, fraud, assault, and child-related offenses.

Scope change

The bill modifies the time limits for prosecuting felonies across multiple categories, including some extensions, some reductions, and several renumbering changes that affect how different crimes are organized in the statute.

TIMELINE

Extended the statute of limitations for trafficking of persons under certain subsections from 7 years to 10 years, and for sexual assault under specific conditions from 7 years to 10 years.

Reduced the statute of limitations for credit card or debit card abuse from 7 years to 5 years, and for fraudulent use of identifying information from 7 years to 5 years.

Added a new 5-year statute of limitations for theft or robbery, kidnapping, burglary, injury to elderly/disabled individuals, abandoning/endangering individuals, insurance fraud, assault against family members, continuous violence against family, and aggravated assault.

Added a new 20-year statute of limitations for kidnapping and aggravated kidnapping when the victim is under 17 at the time of the offense, calculated from the victim's 18th birthday.

Added a new 20-year statute of limitations for trafficking of children and sexual performance by children when the victim is under 17, calculated from the victim's 18th birthday.

Added a new 10-year statute of limitations for injury to a child and bigamy when the person married or purported to marry is under 18, calculated from the victim's 18th birthday.

Added a new 10-year statute of limitations for trafficking of disabled individuals, calculated from when the offense was discovered.

Added a new 2-year statute of limitations for sexual assault punishable as a state jail felony, calculated from when the offense was discovered.

Added a new 3-year statute of limitations for all other felonies, calculated from the date of the offense.

Removed the 7-year statute of limitations for misapplication of fiduciary property or property of a financial institution.

Removed the 7-year statute of limitations for false statement to obtain property or credit.

Removed the 7-year statute of limitations for money laundering.

Removed the 7-year statute of limitations for exploitation of a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual.

Removed the 7-year statute of limitations for health care fraud.

Removed the 7-year statute of limitations for bigamy.

Removed the 7-year statute of limitations for possession or promotion of child pornography.

Added a new 10-year statute of limitations for burglary when the defendant entered a habitation with intent to commit certain offenses, calculated from the victim's 18th birthday if the victim is under 17.

Added a new 10-year statute of limitations for burglary under certain conditions when the victim is under 17, calculated from the victim's 18th birthday.

Renumbered and reorganized the statute sections from 10 subsections to 10 subsections with different numbering, changing the order and content of some provisions.

Added Section 2 stating that the new law does not apply to offenses already barred by the statute of limitations before the effective date.

Added Section 3 setting the effective date of the Act to September 1, 2025.

Floor votes · House May 23, 2025

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

Jun 20, 2025

Signed into law

Signed by the Governor

executive

May 26, 2025

Lower · Passed

Signed in the House

lower

May 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

Signed in the Senate

upper

May 23, 2025

Upper · Passed

House passage reported

upper

May 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

May 19, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report sent to Calendars

lower

May 19, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report distributed

lower

May 15, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)

lower

May 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Left pending in committee

lower

May 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee

lower

Apr 28, 2025

Committee

Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence

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 16, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee report printed and distributed

upper

Apr 16, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably w/o amendments

upper

Apr 15, 2025

Upper · Passed

Vote taken in committee

upper

Apr 15, 2025

Upper · Passed

Testimony taken in committee

upper

Apr 3, 2025

Committee

Referred to Criminal Justice

upper

Apr 3, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

upper

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors