HB 4081 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to the sealing of certain documents alleged to contain trade secrets.

HB 4081 establishes new rules for sealing documents containing alleged trade secrets in civil court cases. It requires parties seeking to seal such documents to submit a notice, a detailed description of the information, contact details, and factual justification for the trade secret claim. The bill also mandates a 14-day deadline for the person claiming the trade secret to respond with their own affidavit if they receive a sealing notice. This applies to all parties involved in civil lawsuits where trade secret claims are relevant, creating a standardized process for document sealing requests. The law aims to balance transparency in court proceedings with protection for legitimate trade secret information.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

House Passage

Jun 2025

Senate Passage

Jun 2025

Signed into Law

Jun 2025

Introduced Mar 27, 2025 Signed Jun 20, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossed → Enrolled · 5 edits · Jun 20, 2025

MODERATE

The bill text was updated from an 'Engrossed' version to the final 'Enrolled' version ready for signing. The substantive legal content regarding trade secret document sealing procedures remained unchanged, with only formatting, spacing, and certification signatures added to finalize the legislative process.

TECHNICAL

Added header information identifying the bill as the final 'Enrolled version' with bill number formatting.

Added digital accessibility update notice at the top of the document.

Added signature blocks for the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House, Chief Clerk of the House, Secretary of the Senate, and Governor with certification dates and vote counts.

Removed page numbers and draft formatting markers from the text.

Adjusted spacing and line breaks throughout the document to match final enrolled format.

Floor votes · House May 6, 2025

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 20, 2025

Signed into law

Signed by the Governor

executive

Jun 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

Signed in the Senate

upper

Jun 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

Signed in the House

lower

May 30, 2025

Introduced

House concurs in Senate amendment(s)-reported

upper

May 30, 2025

Introduced

Text of Senate Amendment(s)

lower

May 30, 2025

Introduced

House concurs in Senate amendment(s)

lower

May 29, 2025

Introduced

Senate Amendments Analysis distributed

lower

May 29, 2025

Introduced

Senate Amendments distributed

lower

May 29, 2025

Lower · Passed

Senate passage as amended reported

lower

May 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

May 25, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee report printed and distributed

upper

May 25, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably as substituted

upper

May 22, 2025

Upper · Passed

Vote taken in committee

upper

May 7, 2025

Committee

Referred to State Affairs

upper

May 7, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

upper

May 6, 2025

Introduced

Received from the House

upper

May 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

May 5, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed to engrossment as amended

lower

May 5, 2025

Lower · Passed

Amended

lower

Apr 25, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report sent to Calendars

lower

Apr 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report distributed

lower

Apr 14, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)

lower

Apr 9, 2025

Lower · Passed

Left pending in committee

lower

Apr 9, 2025

Lower · Passed

Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee

lower

Mar 27, 2025

Committee

Referred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

lower

Mar 27, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

lower

4 primary · 0 co-sponsors