College Station Today

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Paul Dyson seeks to increase criminal penalties for refusing to release fraudulent liens, aiming to address offenses involving public servants and property owners, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the House, 61 Democrats and 87 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, with no opposition.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 10 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor, while one Democrat voted against it.

Paul Dyson introduced the bill in the Texas House on Thursday, March 13, during the 89th regular legislative session.

Dyson graduated from Texas A&M University in 2002 with a BS and again in 2007 from South Texas College of Law - Houston with a JD.

He also graduated from Texas A&M University in 2006.

Dyson, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State House in 2025 to represent the state's 14th House district, replacing previous state representative John N. Raney.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: 'Relating to increasing the criminal penalty for the offense of refusal to execute the release of a fraudulent lien or claim'.

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 refusing to execute the release of a fraudulent lien or claim. It specifies that the offense is typically classified as a Class A misdemeanor. However, the offense is elevated to a third-degree felony if the actor is aware that the owner of the affected real or personal property is a public servant. The provisions of this act will apply only to offenses committed on or after the effective date, set for Sept. 1, 2025. Offenses committed before this date will fall under the existing legal framework present at the time of the offense.

The bill was co-authored by Rep. John Lujan (Republican - District 118).

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.

Legislator	Party	District	Vote
Aicha Davis	Democrat	109	Yea
Alma Allen	Democrat	131	Yea
Ana Hernandez	Democrat	143	Yea
Ana-Maria Ramos	Democrat	102	Yea
Ann Johnson	Democrat	134	Yea
Armando Martinez	Democrat	39	Yea
Armando Walle	Democrat	140	Yea
Barbara Gervin-Hawkins	Democrat	120	Yea
Cassandra Garcia Hernandez	Democrat	115	Yea
Charlene Ward Johnson	Democrat	139	Yea
Chris Turner	Democrat	101	Yea
Christian Manuel	Democrat	22	Yea
Christina Morales	Democrat	145	Yea
Claudia Ordaz	Democrat	79	Yea
Diego Bernal	Democrat	123	Yea
Donna Howard	Democrat	48	Yea
Eddie Morales Jr.	Democrat	74	Yea
Elizabeth Campos	Democrat	119	Yea
Erin Gamez	Democrat	38	Yea
Erin Zwiener	Democrat	45	Yea
Gene Wu	Democrat	137	Yea
Gina Hinojosa	Democrat	49	Yea
Harold Dutton Jr.	Democrat	142	Yea
Hubert Vo	Democrat	149	Yea
James Talarico	Democrat	50	Yea
Jessica Gonzalez	Democrat	104	Yea
John Bucy III	Democrat	136	Yea
John W. Bryant	Democrat	114	Yea
Jolanda Jones	Democrat	147	Yea
Jon Rosenthal	Democrat	135	Yea
Josey Garcia	Democrat	124	Yea
Lauren Ashley Simmons	Democrat	146	Yea
Linda Garcia	Democrat	107	Yea
Maria Luisa Flores	Democrat	51	Yea
Mary Ann Perez	Democrat	144	Yea
Mary Gonzalez	Democrat	75	Yea
Mihaela Plesa	Democrat	70	Yea
Nicole Collier	Democrat	95	Yea
Oscar Longoria	Democrat	35	Yea
Penny Morales Shaw	Democrat	148	Yea
Philip Cortez	Democrat	117	Yea
Rafael Anchia	Democrat	103	Yea
Ramon Romero Jr.	Democrat	90	Yea
Ray Lopez	Democrat	125	Yea
Rhetta Andrews Bowers	Democrat	113	Yea
Richard Raymond	Democrat	42	Yea
Robert Guerra	Democrat	41	Yea
Ron Reynolds	Democrat	27	Yea
Salman Bhojani	Democrat	92	Yea
Senfronia Thompson	Democrat	141	Yea
Sergio Munoz Jr.	Democrat	36	Yea
Sheryl Cole	Democrat	46	Yea
Suleman Lalani	Democrat	76	Yea
Terry Canales	Democrat	40	Yea
Terry Meza	Democrat	105	Yea
Toni Rose	Democrat	110	Yea
Trey Martinez Fischer	Democrat	116	Yea
Venton Jones	Democrat	100	Yea
Vikki Goodwin	Democrat	47	Yea
Vincent Perez	Democrat	77	Yea
Yvonne Davis	Democrat	111	Yea
A.J. Louderback	Republican	30	Yea
Alan Schoolcraft	Republican	44	Yea
Andy Hopper	Republican	64	Yea
Angelia Orr	Republican	13	Yea
Angie Chen Button	Republican	112	Yea
Ben Bumgarner	Republican	63	Yea
Brad Buckley	Republican	54	Yea
Brent Money	Republican	2	Yea
Brian E. Harrison	Republican	10	Yea
Briscoe Cain	Republican	128	Yea
Brooks Landgraf	Republican	81	Yea
Candy Noble	Republican	89	Yea
Carl Tepper	Republican	84	Yea
Caroline Fairly	Republican	87	Yea
Caroline Harris Davila	Republican	52	Yea
Carrie Isaac	Republican	73	Yea
Cecil Bell Jr.	Republican	3	Yea
Charles Cunningham	Republican	127	Yea
Charlie Geren	Republican	99	Yea
Cody Harris	Republican	8	Yea
Cody Vasut	Republican	25	Yea
Cole Hefner	Republican	5	Yea
Dade Phelan	Republican	21	Yea
Daniel Alders	Republican	6	Yea
David Cook	Republican	96	Yea
David Lowe	Republican	91	Yea
David Spiller	Republican	68	Yea
Denise Villalobos	Republican	34	Yea
Dennis Paul	Republican	129	Yea
Don McLaughlin	Republican	80	Yea
Drew Darby	Republican	72	Yea
E. Sam Harless	Republican	126	Yea
Ellen Troxclair	Republican	19	Yea
Gary Gates	Republican	28	Yea
Gary VanDeaver	Republican	1	Yea
Giovanni Capriglione	Republican	98	Yea
Greg Bonnen	Republican	24	Yea
Helen Kerwin	Republican	58	Yea
Hillary Hickland	Republican	55	Yea
J.M. Lozano	Republican	43	Yea
James Frank	Republican	69	Yea
Janie Lopez	Republican	37	Yea
Janis Holt	Republican	18	Yea
Jared Patterson	Republican	106	Yea
Jay Dean	Republican	7	Yea
Jeff Leach	Republican	67	Yea
Jeffrey Barry	Republican	29	Yea
Joanne Shofner	Republican	11	Yea
John Lujan	Republican	118	Yea
John McQueeney	Republican	97	Yea
John Smithee	Republican	86	Yea
Katrina Pierson	Republican	33	Yea
Keith Bell	Republican	4	Yea
Ken King	Republican	88	Yea
Keresa Richardson	Republican	61	Yea
Lacey Hull	Republican	138	Yea
Mano Deayala	Republican	133	Yea
Marc LaHood	Republican	121	Yea
Mark Dorazio	Republican	122	Yea
Matt Morgan	Republican	26	Yea
Matt Shaheen	Republican	66	Yea
Mike Olcott	Republican	60	Yea
Mike Schofield	Republican	132	Yea
Mitch Little	Republican	65	Yea
Morgan Meyer	Republican	108	Yea
Nate Schatzline	Republican	93	Yea
Pat Curry	Republican	56	Yea
Paul Dyson	Republican	14	Yea
Richard Hayes	Republican	57	Yea
Ryan Guillen	Republican	31	Yea
Shelby Slawson	Republican	59	Yea
Shelley Luther	Republican	62	Yea
Stan Gerdes	Republican	17	Yea
Stan Kitzman	Republican	85	Yea
Stan Lambert	Republican	71	Yea
Steve Toth	Republican	15	Yea
Terri Leo-Wilson	Republican	23	Yea
Terry Wilson	Republican	20	Yea
Todd Hunter	Republican	32	Yea
Tom Craddick	Republican	82	Yea
Tom Oliverson	Republican	130	Yea
Tony Tinderholt	Republican	94	Yea
Trent Ashby	Republican	9	Yea
Trey Wharton	Republican	12	Yea
Valoree Swanson	Republican	150	Yea
Wesley Virdell	Republican	53	Yea
Will Metcalf	Republican	16	Yea

Legislator	Party	District	Vote
Sarah Eckhardt	Democrat	14	Nea
Borris Miles	Democrat	13	Yea
Carol Alvarado	Democrat	6	Yea
César Blanco	Democrat	29	Yea
José Menéndez	Democrat	26	Yea
Juan Hinojosa	Democrat	20	Yea
Judith Zaffirini	Democrat	21	Yea
Molly Cook	Democrat	15	Yea
Nathan Johnson	Democrat	16	Yea
Roland Gutierrez	Democrat	19	Yea
Royce West	Democrat	23	Yea
Adam Hinojosa	Republican	27	Yea
Angela Paxton	Republican	8	Yea
Bob Hall	Republican	2	Yea
Brandon Creighton	Republican	4	Yea
Brent Hagenbuch	Republican	30	Yea
Brian Birdwell	Republican	22	Yea
Bryan Hughes	Republican	1	Yea
Charles Perry	Republican	28	Yea
Charles Schwertner	Republican	5	Yea
Donna Campbell	Republican	25	Yea
Joan Huffman	Republican	17	Yea
Kelly Hancock	Republican	9	Yea
Kevin Sparks	Republican	31	Yea
Lois Kolkhorst	Republican	18	Yea
Mayes Middleton	Republican	11	Yea
Paul Bettencourt	Republican	7	Yea
Peter P. Flores	Republican	24	Yea
Phil King	Republican	10	Yea
Robert Nichols	Republican	3	Yea
Tan Parker	Republican	12	Yea