HB 4838 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to conducting an assessment of language accessibility with respect to certain health and human services programs and 2-1-1 services provided by the Texas Information and Referral Network.

HB 4838 requires Texas' Health and Human Services Commission to hire a language access coordinator to assess barriers non-English speakers face when accessing state health/human services programs and 2-1-1 services through the Texas Information and Referral Network. The coordinator must complete an assessment within one year of hiring and submit a written report to the commission's executive commissioner, summarizing findings and recommending improvements to increase language access statewide. The bill mandates this process to identify gaps in service accessibility for non-English speakers. The requirement expires June 1, 2027, and takes effect September 1, 2025.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Apr 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Apr 3, 2025 Last action May 12, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Engrossed · 3 edits · May 12, 2025
MINOR
The bill text was reformatted and cleaned up from an introduced draft to an engrossed version. The substantive policy content remains unchanged, with the only real difference being improved formatting and removal of draft markup symbols.
TECHNICAL

Removed draft markup symbols and formatting artifacts (like 'AA', '1...', '89R15287 AND-F') that were present in the introduced version but are not part of the actual law.

Added proper bill header information including bill number (HB 4838), sponsor names (Morales Shaw, Lalani, McLaughlin, Flores, Lopez of Cameron, et al.), and version designation (Engrossed version).

Improved line breaks and spacing throughout the document for better readability in the final engrossed version.

Floor votes · House May 9, 2025

How they voted

6564
Passed · 14 other
Total votes 143
May 9, 2025
D Democratic57
51 Yea 1 Nay 5
89% Yea
R Republican86
14 Yea 63 Nay 9
73% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
27
Key actions
8
Committee
8
May 12, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
May 9, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment
lower
May 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Apr 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
Apr 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
Vote reconsidered in committee
lower
Apr 29, 2025
Committee
Failed to receive affirmative vote in comm.
lower
Apr 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Apr 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Apr 3, 2025
Committee
Referred to Human Services
lower
Apr 3, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
4 primary · 10 co-sponsors

Sponsors