Texas Senate Bill SB 1285

Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

• Filed: 2/14/25
• Out of Senate Committee: 4/29/25
• Voted on by Senate: 5/14/25
• Out of House Committee: 5/25/25

Caption

Relating to the protection of bats.

Summary

SB 1285 amends the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code to strengthen protections for bats. The bill generally prohibits a person from entombing, hunting, selling, offering for sale, purchasing, offering to purchase, or possessing a bat or any part of a bat, whether dead or alive. It removes the prior allowance for licensed pest control professionals to possess bats after purchase, narrowing the statute’s exceptions. The bill preserves limited exceptions for animal control officers, peace officers, licensed pest control professionals, and health officials who capture bats they believe are injured or diseased, as well as for transporting bats for rabies-related laboratory testing or for rehabilitation at a permitted facility when there has been no known human exposure. The act takes effect September 1, 2025.

Impact

The bill revises Section 63.101 of the Parks and Wildlife Code, expanding the state’s restrictions on the handling and commercial transfer of bats and their parts. It affects pest control, animal control, law enforcement, public health officials, wildlife rehabilitation facilities, and anyone who might otherwise possess or trade bats. By removing the explicit pest-control exception for possession after purchase, the bill tightens wildlife-protection rules while preserving public-health and rehabilitation-related handling.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests the bill had meaningful but not unanimous support. It passed the Senate with a strong majority on third reading, though with several dissenting votes, indicating broad agreement on bat protection but not complete consensus. No committee transcript is available, but the final votes suggest the measure was generally viewed favorably as a wildlife and public-health bill.

Contention

The main point of contention appears to be the scope of the prohibition and the removal of the prior exception for licensed pest control professionals. Opponents may have been concerned about limiting pest-control operations or creating practical burdens for professionals who encounter bats, while supporters likely favored tighter protections and clearer restrictions on possession and trade. The remaining exceptions for rabies testing, rehabilitation, and official capture suggest the bill tried to balance wildlife protection with public-health needs.