Texas Senate bill by Sen. Flores increases criminal penalties for forgery offenses

Newly passed bill authored by State Sen. Peter P. Flores aims to adjust criminal penalties for forgery offenses, categorizing them by document type and monetary value to address varying levels of severity, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the Senate, nine Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while two Democrats opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the House, 15 Democrats and 83 Republicans voted in favor, while 43 Democrats voted against it.

Peter P. Flores introduced the bill in the Texas Senate on Tuesday, Feb. 18, during the 89th regular legislative session.

Flores graduated from Texas A&M University in 1983 with a BS.

Flores, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State Senate in 2023 to represent the state’s 24th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Dawn Buckingham.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to increasing the criminal penalties for forgery’.

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

In essence, this bill increases the criminal penalties for forgery offenses, categorizing them based on the type of writing or the value of property or services obtained. It maintains that forgery is generally a state jail felony but elevates offenses to a third-degree felony if they involve wills, deeds, or commercial instruments, and to a second-degree felony for government documents or financial instruments. Additionally, penalties are scaled according to the monetary value involved, ranging from a Class B misdemeanor for less than $100 to a first-degree felony for $150,000 or more. Crimes against elderly individuals are penalized one level higher. The changes apply to offenses committed on or after Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill was co-authored by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (Republican – District 18) and Sen. Royce West (Democrat – District 23).

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.