Relating to the creation of offices of District Attorney for the Northeast Texas, Central Texas, Southeast Texas, and South Texas Regions and the powers and duties of and related to such officers.
HB 4803 would create four new regional district attorney offices in Texas: one each for Northeast Texas, Central Texas, Southeast Texas, and South Texas. The bill defines the counties included in each region, gives each regional district attorney the same powers and duties as other district attorneys, and provides that the regional office and existing district or county attorneys within the region must assist one another in carrying out prosecutorial duties. The bill also states that these regions are to be treated as “districts” for Sixth Amendment purposes.
The measure gives a regional district attorney the ability to assert primary representation of the state in criminal matters within the region by notifying the otherwise responsible district or county attorney and, if a case is pending, the court. Once that notice is given, the local prosecutor may not represent the state in that matter unless the regional district attorney later relinquishes representation, though the local prosecutor may assist under supervision. The bill also allows the regional district attorney to prosecute matters in any county within the region and, in some circumstances, transfer venue within the region. It requires law enforcement agencies and magistrates to notify all relevant district attorneys when cases are filed or arrests occur, and it directs the Legislature to fund the new offices through the appropriations process. Initial vacancies in the new offices would be filled by appointment, and the act would take effect September 1, 2025.
HB 4803 would significantly alter Texas prosecutorial structure by adding a new layer of elected regional prosecutors and modifying the allocation of criminal case authority across many counties. It would amend the Government Code and Code of Criminal Procedure to recognize the new regional district attorneys, require notice-sharing among prosecutors, law enforcement, and magistrates, and create special rules for asserting, relinquishing, and transferring prosecution within the new regions. The bill would also require state funding for staffing and operations of the new offices and would affect the duties of existing district attorneys, county attorneys, criminal district attorneys, law enforcement agencies, and courts in the covered counties.
The available record shows no committee transcript, recorded votes, or floor debate, so there is no direct evidence of public support or opposition in the provided materials. The bill was filed and referred to the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence committees in both chambers, but its last recorded action was that it was withdrawn from the schedule on April 23, 2025. That procedural outcome suggests the measure did not advance, but the provided context does not explain why.
The bill’s main points of likely contention are the creation of large regional prosecutor offices and the resulting shift in authority away from existing district and county attorneys. The proposal would allow a regional district attorney to supersede local prosecutors in criminal matters after notice, which could raise concerns about local control, prosecutorial discretion, venue changes, and coordination among multiple offices. Another likely issue is cost, because the bill expressly requires legislative appropriations for assistants, investigators, and other staff. The absence of transcript material means no specific objections or supporters are identified in the record provided.