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
65–64
Passed · 14 other
Total votes 143
May 9, 2025
D
Democratic57
89% Yea
R
Republican86
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
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Don McLaughlin
RRepublican
P
Janie Lopez
RRepublican
P
Penny Morales Shaw
DDemocratic
P
Suleman Lalani
DDemocratic
Co
Aicha Davis
DDemocratic
Co
Gene Wu
DDemocratic
Co
Hubert Vo
DDemocratic
Co
John Bryant
DDemocratic
Co
Jon Rosenthal
DDemocratic
Co
Lauren Simmons
DDemocratic
Co
Mihaela Pleșa
DDemocratic
Co
Ron Reynolds
DDemocratic
Co
Salman Bhojani
DDemocratic
Co
Terry Meza
DDemocratic
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