New laws passed by the 89th Texas Legislature will take effect statewide September 1, 2025. Several of these measures directly affect how criminal cases are investigated, charged, and prosecuted, with new penalties, procedures, and rules that every defendant and family should understand.
Here’s a clear, practical breakdown of what’s changing, how it might affect you, and what steps to take next.
A new law makes it a crime to possess, view, or share obscene visual material that appears to depict a child, even when no real child is involved. Under Senate Bill 20 (SB 20), this includes AI-generated images, cartoons, deepfakes, or altered photos that show a person who appears to be under 18 engaged in sexual conduct, regardless of whether the image is real or synthetic.
Penalties under Penal Code § 43.235:
Multiple files or related offenses (like promotion of child pornography) can be stacked for consecutive sentencing.
This law massively expands Texas’s child-exploitation laws. It no longer matters whether a real child was involved; if an image looks like a minor, it can be prosecuted as child pornography.
That means fantasy art, memes, or AI-generated content, once seen as a “gray area,” can now lead to felony charges. Intent is key, but the bar is low: simply “accessing with intent to view” can qualify.
Under Senate Bill 826, a first-time DWI offense committed in an active school crossing zone is now a state jail felony, even if no accident occurred.
If convicted, you could face:
Texas already enforces some of the toughest DWI laws in the country.
Now, simply driving while intoxicated through an active school zone, regardless of intent or harm, elevates the case to a felony.
That means:
SB 826 adds subsection (e) to Texas Penal Code § 49.04, creating this new felony category. “School crossing zone” follows Transportation Code § 541.302, which defines active hours based on marked reduced-speed times.
Starting September 1, 2025, it’s a criminal offense for a notary to notarize a document without verifying identity in person (or via an approved video system).
Under Senate Bill 693, a notary who breaks this rule commits:
This law aims to prevent fraud, but it also exposes honest mistakes to criminal scrutiny. Notarized documents are used in criminal, immigration, and family law every day.
If a notary skips ID verification, the document can be invalidated, and the notary or signer could face charges.
SB 693 amends Texas Government Code Chapter 406, adding Section 406.0091. It also:
Under Senate Bill 1809, tampering with or misusing gift cards is now a standalone felony offense, even if no purchase or theft occurs.
The new Penal Code § 32.56, makes it a crime to:
The severity of the charge depends on the number of cards or data sets involved:
If someone possesses data from three or more cards, prosecutors can presume intent to defraud, unless proven otherwise.
Gift card fraud has become a fast-growing form of organized theft.
But SB 1809 casts a wide net, meaning even legitimate possession or sales could draw suspicion if poorly documented.
For example:
These aren’t small adjustments. They reshape how courts define intent, fraud, and digital evidence, and how prosecutors approach ordinary mistakes.
For defendants, this means more exposure and fewer margins for error, especially in digital, financial, or procedural cases.
At the Law Office of Brett A. Podolsky, we track every legislative and procedural change to help clients protect their rights and avoid unnecessary exposure.
If you or a loved one are facing charges under these new laws or if you think you might be affected, schedule a confidential consultation today to understand your rights and plan your next steps.
