Relating to a civil cause of action for fraudulent crowdfunding.
HB 4281 creates a new civil legal remedy for victims of fraudulent crowdfunding campaigns in Texas. It defines "fraudulent crowdfunding" as collecting donations with the intent to keep the funds instead of giving them to the intended recipient (the "donee"). Victims can sue to recover 125% of the stolen donations plus attorney fees, but the law only applies to cases occurring on or after its effective date of September 1, 2025. This bill directly affects individuals and organizations running crowdfunding campaigns who misappropriate funds, as well as those who are defrauded by such campaigns.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Apr 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
Jun 2025
Introduced Apr 1, 2025
Signed Jun 20, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Engrossed
→
Enrolled
·
3 edits
·
Jun 20, 2025
MINOR
The bill text was reformatted from a draft version to an enrolled version, adding signatures and certification details. The substantive content of the fraudulent crowdfunding liability law remains unchanged, including the definition of fraudulent crowdfunding, liability provisions, damages calculations (125% of donations plus attorney fees), and the effective date of September 1, 2025.
Scope change
No substantive scope or applicability changes; only formatting and enrollment documentation were added
TECHNICAL
Added enrolled version header, signatures for Senate President and House Speaker, and certification of passage votes for both chambers
Added Governor approval section with signature lines and date field
Removed draft formatting markers and page numbers, replacing them with clean enrolled bill text
Floor votes · House May 14, 2025
How they voted
This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
50
Key actions
16
Committee
10
Amendments
2
Jun 20, 2025
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor
executive
May 27, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed in the Senate
upper
May 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed in the House
lower
May 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
Senate passage reported
lower
May 26, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
May 25, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
May 25, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendments
upper
May 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
May 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
Testimony taken in committee
upper
May 15, 2025
Committee
Referred to State Affairs
upper
May 15, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
May 14, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
May 13, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment as amended
lower
May 13, 2025
Lower · Passed
Amended
lower
May 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 6, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
May 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably as substituted
lower
Apr 16, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Apr 1, 2025
Committee
Referred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
lower
Apr 1, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
5 primary · 2 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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