Texas Senate bill by Sen. Middleton increases penalties for illegal organ trade

Passed bill authored by State Sen. Mayes Middleton seeks to strengthen legal consequences for illegal organ transactions and ensure medical professionals using such organs face license revocation, aiming to uphold ethical medical practices, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the Senate, 10 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while one Democrat opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the House, 56 Democrats and 84 Republicans voted in favor, with no opposing votes.

Mayes Middleton introduced the bill in the Texas Senate on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, ahead of the official start of the 89th regular legislative session on Jan. 14, 2025.

Middleton graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA and again from University of Texas Law School with a JD.

Middleton, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State Senate in 2023 to represent the state’s 11th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Larry Taylor.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to the purchase or sale of human organs; increasing a criminal penalty’.

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

In essence, this bill amends the Texas Penal Code to increase the criminal penalty for purchasing or selling human organs, elevating the offense to a state jail felony. Additionally, it modifies the Occupations Code to mandate the revocation of a physician’s license if they knowingly use an illegally obtained human organ in a medical procedure. The changes apply to offenses and conduct occurring on or after the act’s effective date, Sept. 1, 2025. Offenses or conduct prior to this date will be subject to the laws that were in effect at the time they occurred.

The bill was co-authored by Sen. Bob Hall (Republican – District 2).

The bill received its final legislative approval on Wednesday, May 28, 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.