HB 517 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to the authority of a property owners' association to assess a fine for discolored vegetation or turf during a period of residential watering restriction.

HB 517 prohibits property owners' associations from fining homeowners for discolored or brown grass/turf during official residential water restrictions. It specifically applies when a municipality or water supplier mandates drought-related watering limits, and the fine ban lasts through the restriction period plus 60 days after it ends. The law directly affects homeowners in communities with property associations and prevents associations from enforcing landscaping fines during water shortages. This policy change takes effect September 1, 2025, and is limited to mandatory drought restrictions, not voluntary conservation efforts.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Mar 3, 2025 Signed May 26, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossed Enrolled · 4 edits · May 26, 2025
MODERATE
The bill was transitioned from its working draft version to the final enrolled version ready for signing into law. The substantive policy content remains unchanged, with the main differences being formatting corrections, removal of draft annotations, and addition of official certification signatures and dates.
TECHNICAL

Removed draft annotations and placeholder text (e.g., 'AA', '1[...]1') that were used during the legislative process

Added official certification statements confirming passage by the House and Senate with specific dates and vote counts

Added signature lines for the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House, Chief Clerk of the House, Secretary of the Senate, and Governor

Corrected formatting inconsistencies in spacing and line breaks throughout the document

Floor votes · House Apr 23, 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
17
Committee
10
Amendments
2
May 26, 2025
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor
executive
May 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed in the Senate
upper
May 13, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed in the House
lower
May 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Senate passage reported
lower
May 12, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
May 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
May 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendments
upper
May 1, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
Apr 28, 2025
Committee
Referred to Business & Commerce
upper
Apr 28, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
Apr 24, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
Apr 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
Apr 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment as amended
lower
Apr 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
Amended
lower
Apr 23, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (145-0-1)
house
Apr 2, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
Apr 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Mar 26, 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 3, 2025
Committee
Referred to Trade, Workforce & Economic Development
lower
Mar 3, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
6 primary · 7 co-sponsors

Sponsors