89R15755 CJD-D By: Shofner H.B. No. 4357 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to requiring a search warrant to obtain or use certain purchase information in a criminal action. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Chapter 18, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Article 18.25 to read as follows: Art. 18.25. WARRANT REQUIRED FOR USE OF CERTAIN PURCHASE INFORMATION. (a) In this section, "firearm" has the meaning assigned by Section 46.01, Penal Code. (b) A search warrant is required to obtain or use, in a criminal investigation or prosecution, a record of a bank account or credit or debit card relating to the sale of a firearm or ammunition. (c) A search warrant under this article may be issued only by a judge, including a judge of a statutory county court, in the same judicial district as the site of the law enforcement agency that employs the peace officer who is applying for the warrant. (d) A judge may issue a search warrant under this article only on the application of a peace officer. An application must be in writing and signed and sworn to or affirmed before the judge. The application must: (1) state the name, department, agency, and address of the applicant; (2) identify the record to be searched for and seized; (3) state the name of the individual whose activity is described by the record; (4) state the judicial district in which the law enforcement agency that employs the peace officer is located; and (5) state the facts and circumstances that provide the applicant with probable cause to believe that: (A) criminal activity has been, is, or will be committed; and (B) the record is likely to produce evidence in the investigation of the criminal activity described in Paragraph (A). (e) A record acquired without a search warrant under this article is not admissible in a criminal action. SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.