Relating to increasing the criminal penalty and changing the eligibility for community supervision, mandatory supervision, and parole for certain persons convicted of intoxication manslaughter, the official text

H.B. No. 2017

AN ACT

relating to increasing the criminal penalty and changing the

eligibility for community supervision, mandatory supervision, and

parole for certain persons convicted of intoxication manslaughter.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as Grayson's Law.

SECTION 2. Section 49.09(b-2), Penal Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(b-2) An offense under Section 49.08 is a felony of the

first degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the

person:

(1) caused the death of a person described by

Subsection (b-1); or

(2) has previously been convicted of an offense

relating to the operating of a motor vehicle while intoxicated,

operating an aircraft while intoxicated, operating a watercraft

while intoxicated, or operating or assembling an amusement ride

while intoxicated, and at the time of the commission of the instant

offense was in violation of Chapter 51.

SECTION 3. Article 42A.059, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended to read as follows:

Art. 42A.059. PLACEMENT ON COMMUNITY SUPERVISION

PROHIBITED FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES INVOLVING ILLEGAL ENTRY INTO THIS

STATE. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a

defendant is not eligible for community supervision, including

deferred adjudication community supervision, under this chapter if

the defendant is charged with or convicted of an offense under:

(1) Chapter 51, Penal Code; or

(2) Section 49.08, Penal Code, if the offense is

punishable under Section 49.09(b-2)(2), Penal Code.

SECTION 4. Section 508.145, Government Code, is amended by

adding Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:

(e-1) An inmate serving a sentence for an offense punishable

under Section 49.09(b-2)(2), Penal Code, is not eligible for

release on parole until the actual calendar time served, without

consideration of good conduct time, equals 10 years.

SECTION 5. Section 508.147, Government Code, is amended by

amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as

follows:

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1) and Section

508.149, a parole panel shall order the release of an inmate who is

not on parole to mandatory supervision when the actual calendar

time the inmate has served plus any accrued good conduct time equals

the term to which the inmate was sentenced.

(a-1) An inmate serving a sentence for an offense punishable

under Section 49.09(b-2)(2), Penal Code, may not be released to

mandatory supervision unless:

(1) the inmate's actual calendar time served, without

consideration of good conduct time, equals at least 10 years; and

(2) the inmate is otherwise eligible for release under

Subsection (a).

SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to

an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An

offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed

by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the

former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of

this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of

this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

______________________________
______________________________

President of the Senate
Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 2017 was passed by the House on May 6,

2025, by the following vote: Yeas 117, Nays 28, 1 present, not

voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to

H.B. No. 2017 on May 30, 2025, and requested the appointment of a

conference committee to consider the differences between the two

houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report

on H.B. No. 2017 on June 1, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 96,

Nays 38, 1 present, not voting.

______________________________

Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 2017 was passed by the Senate, with

amendments, on May 26, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 26, Nays

5; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference

committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and

that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.

2017 on May 31, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 26, Nays 5.

______________________________

Secretary of the Senate

APPROVED: __________________

Date

__________________

Governor