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Committee adopts skimmer exemption so devices used only for payment-card theft can be searched without phone warrant
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Summary
The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice adopted a committee substitute for SB 1497 to clarify that card skimmers are not “wireless communication devices” under Article 18.0215, allowing law enforcement to access data on seized skimmers without a warrant; the committee reported the substitute favorably to the full Senate.
Chair Flores opened the Committee on Criminal Justice hearing Wednesday and recognized Senator Nichols to explain SB 1497, a bill to clarify that skimming devices used to steal payment-card information are not covered by the state’s warrant requirement for wireless communication devices.
The measure would amend article 18.0215 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to exempt skimmers—devices designed solely to steal magnetic-stripe payment data found on fuel pumps, ATMs and point-of-sale terminals—from the statutory definition of a “cellular telephone or other wireless communication device.” The committee adopted a committee substitute before voting to report the substitute favorably to the full Senate.
Why it matters: testimony from law enforcement described skimming as a large driver of organized payment-card fraud statewide and said the statutory ambiguity is causing enforcement delays. Jeff Headley, field operations captain for the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center (FCIC), told the committee the devices “aren't sold legally and can't store personal photos or communications” and are built “solely by criminals to steal payment card and personal identifying information.” Headley warned that the undefined term “wireless communication device” has been interpreted differently in practice, creating risk of legal challenge and delay when seizing skimmers.
The committee substitute expands the exemption to cover “all such devices also manufactured for the purpose of illicitly obtaining payment card information,” according to Senator Nichols’s explanation to the panel. The chair moved adoption of the substitute and, with no objection, the committee substitute was adopted and later reported to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation. The committee recorded the substitute as reported favorably (tally: 4 ayes, 0 nays).
Supporters said the change would streamline investigations and reduce harm to victims by allowing investigators to promptly extract card data from seized hardware. No public witnesses testified on the bill during the committee’s public-testimony period.
The bill will next be placed on the full Senate calendar. If enacted, it would not create new search powers beyond those in the Fourth Amendment; proponents framed it as a clarification that tools designed only for theft are not the same as a person’s wireless communications.
