HB 871 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to the residential and commercial building codes of municipalities.

HB 871 adopts the International Residential Code (as of May 1, 2021) and International Building Code (as of May 1, 2021) as the baseline standards for residential and commercial building codes across Texas municipalities. It freezes the baseline codes at their 2021 versions, requiring municipalities to use these specific editions for new construction starting on or after January 1, 2026. Municipalities must adopt implementing rules by December 1, 2025, but may review future updates from the International Code Council after that date. The bill directly affects cities, towns, and developers working on new residential or commercial construction projects beginning in 2026 or later.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

House Passage

May 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 5, 2025 Last action May 19, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 5 edits · May 16, 2025

MODERATE

This bill updates the residential and commercial building codes in Texas by changing the adoption dates of the International Residential and Building Codes from May 1, 2021 to May 1, 2018, and adjusts the transition timeline for existing projects. The changes ensure that older code versions apply to agricultural operations and extend the deadline for municipalities to implement new rules and the effective date of the act by one year.

Scope change

The bill now specifically addresses agricultural operations, requiring the 2012 code version to apply to buildings connected with agricultural activities, and expands the scope of applicability to include both residential and commercial construction under unified sections.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the act was changed from September 1, 2025 to September 1, 2026, and the deadline for municipalities to establish rules was extended from December 1, 2025 to December 1, 2026.

ELIGIBILITY

The transition date for construction projects was changed from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027, meaning projects starting before this date will follow the law in effect at the time of agreement.

SCOPE

A new provision was added to specify that the International Residential and Building Codes as they existed on May 1, 2012 apply to buildings or structures used in connection with agricultural operations.

REQUIREMENT

The adopted versions of the International Residential Code and International Building Code were changed from the May 1, 2021 versions to the May 1, 2018 versions.

TECHNICAL

Formatting errors and placeholder text such as 'AA', 'A BILL TO BE ENTITLED' with line numbers, and accessibility notes were removed during the revision process.

Floor votes · House May 16, 2025

How they voted

72–53

Passed · 18 other

Total votes 143

May 16, 2025

D Democratic60

50 Yea 1 Nay 9

83% Yea

R Republican83

22 Yea 52 Nay 9

62% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 19, 2025

Introduced

Received from the House

upper

May 16, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

May 15, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed to engrossment as amended

lower

May 15, 2025

Lower · Passed

Amended

lower

May 9, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report sent to Calendars

lower

May 9, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report distributed

lower

May 2, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably as substituted

lower

May 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

Left pending in committee

lower

May 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee

lower

Mar 5, 2025

Committee

Referred to Land & Resource Management

lower

Mar 5, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

lower

3 primary · 0 co-sponsors