HB 647 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to the removal of certain restrictions imposed on driver's licenses; authorizing a fee.

HB 647 allows Texas driver's license holders who have had vision-correcting surgery to remove restrictions requiring corrective lenses. To qualify, license holders must submit a written statement from a licensed physician or optometrist confirming surgical correction and pay a required fee. The Texas Department of Public Safety must then mail a new license without the restriction, except for individuals required to register under Chapter 62 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (sex offender registry). The bill takes effect September 1, 2025, and changes the process for removing this specific license restriction.
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
Jun 2025
Introduced Mar 4, 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 reformatted from an Engrossed version to an Enrolled version, adding official signatures, vote counts, and certification details. The core policy content regarding driver's license restrictions remains substantively unchanged.
TECHNICAL

Added Enrolled version header, bill number formatting, and official legislative signatures.

Added vote counts for House and Senate passage and certification of amendments.

Removed internal markup annotations (AAs, 1[...]1) and page numbers from the original bill text.

Added Governor approval signature line and date field at the end of the document.

FISCAL

Added Section 2 requiring specific legislative appropriation for Texas Department of Public Safety implementation.

Floor votes · House Apr 9, 2025

How they voted

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

Actions timeline

Total actions
58
Key actions
17
Committee
10
Amendments
9
Jun 20, 2025
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor
executive
May 31, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed in the Senate
upper
May 30, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed in the House
lower
May 28, 2025
Introduced
House concurs in Senate amendment(s)-reported
upper
May 28, 2025
Introduced
Text of Senate Amendment(s)
lower
May 28, 2025
Introduced
House concurs in Senate amendment(s)
lower
May 26, 2025
Introduced
Senate Amendments Analysis distributed
lower
May 26, 2025
Introduced
Senate Amendments distributed
lower
May 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
Senate passage as amended reported
lower
May 25, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
May 25, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed to 3rd reading as amended
upper
May 25, 2025
Upper · Passed
Amended
upper
May 25, 2025
Introduced
Amendment(s) offered
upper
May 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
May 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendments
upper
May 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
Apr 14, 2025
Committee
Referred to Transportation
upper
Apr 14, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
Apr 10, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
Apr 10, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
Apr 9, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment
lower
Mar 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
Mar 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Mar 19, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably as substituted
lower
Mar 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Mar 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Mar 4, 2025
Committee
Referred to Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs
lower
Mar 4, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
4 primary · 2 co-sponsors

Sponsors