HB 146 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to the required approval by the State Preservation Board of certain traffic changes near the State Capitol.

HB 146 requires the State Preservation Board to approve certain traffic changes near the Texas State Capitol. It directly affects municipalities (like Austin) managing traffic on Congress Avenue between the Congress Avenue Bridge and 11th Street (the "covered segment"). The bill prohibits permanent lane reductions or lane closures exceeding 14 consecutive days without approval from four State Preservation Board members, with exceptions for special events (50+ attendees), adjacent construction, or pedestrian safety plans. This amendment to the Government Code aims to preserve traffic flow and safety in the Capitol area.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

House Passage

May 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 12, 2025 Last action May 27, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 5 edits · May 13, 2025

MODERATE

The bill text was reformatted and corrected to reflect the official engrossed version of HB 146. The substantive policy content remains the same, establishing State Preservation Board approval requirements for traffic changes near the Texas State Capitol.

Scope change

The geographic scope was slightly clarified by changing 'Capitol Area' to 'Capitol-Area' and adding a specific definition for 'Covered segment' as Congress Avenue in Travis County between the Congress Avenue Bridge and 11th Street.

DEFINITION

Added a new definition for 'Covered segment' to specify the exact portion of Congress Avenue in Travis County subject to the bill's restrictions.

Added a new definition for 'Special event' as any event with 50 or more attendees that requires temporary closure of a covered segment or adjacent public road.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the traffic closure threshold from 7 consecutive days to 14 consecutive days for covered segments, with exceptions for special events, construction projects, and traffic control plans.

Changed the title from 'CAPITOL AREA TRAFFIC CHANGES' to 'APPROVAL OF CERTAIN CAPITOL-AREA TRAFFIC CHANGES' to better reflect the specific scope.

TECHNICAL

Corrected formatting errors, removed extraneous text, and reorganized the bill structure to match the official engrossed version.

Floor votes · House May 12, 2025

How they voted

101–31

Passed · 12 other

Total votes 144

May 12, 2025

D Democratic58

22 Yea 31 Nay 5

53% Nay

R Republican86

79 Yea 7

91% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 22, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee report printed and distributed

upper

May 22, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably w/o amendments

upper

May 22, 2025

Upper · Passed

Vote taken in committee

upper

May 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

Left pending in committee

upper

May 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

Testimony taken in committee

upper

May 14, 2025

Committee

Referred to Business & Commerce

upper

May 14, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

upper

May 14, 2025

Introduced

Received from the House

upper

May 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

May 12, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed to engrossment

lower

May 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report sent to Calendars

lower

May 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report distributed

lower

Apr 30, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably as substituted

lower

Mar 19, 2025

Lower · Passed

Left pending in committee

lower

Mar 19, 2025

Lower · Passed

Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee

lower

Mar 12, 2025

Committee

Referred to State Affairs

lower

Mar 12, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

lower

3 primary · 1 co-sponsor