Texas House bill by Rep. Howard revises sexual assault procedures and victim rights

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Donna Howard seeks to revise procedures and enhance protections and rights for sexual assault victims, aiming to improve judicial and healthcare responses statewide, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the House, 58 Democrats and 82 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, with no opposition.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 11 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor, also with no opposing votes.

Donna Howard introduced the bill in the Texas House on Friday, March 14, during the 89th regular legislative session.

Howard graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA.

Howard, a Democrat, was elected to the Texas State House in 2006 to represent the state’s 48th House district, replacing previous state representative Todd Baxter.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to sexual assault and other sex offenses’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, the bill revises procedures and rights related to sexual assault and sex offenses in Texas, effective Sept. 1, 2025. It redefines “victim” and enhances protections and rights for victims within judicial and healthcare systems, including access to information, notifications, and compensation processes. Law enforcement agencies must provide victims with a notice of rights, and healthcare facilities must offer sexual assault response training to relevant staff. It outlines continuing education requirements for medical professionals on forensic evidence collection and mandates background checks for transportation network drivers, disqualifying offenders. The bill also addresses compliance protocols for response teams and adjustments to victim protections in residential leases and local government code reporting requirements.

The bill was co-authored by Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (Democrat – District 116), Rep. Tom Oliverson (Republican – District 130), and Rep. David Cook (Republican – District 96), along with four other authors.

The bill received its final legislative approval on Friday, May 23, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, June 20.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.