SB 1073 Texas Senate · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to discrimination against or burdening certain constitutional rights of an applicant for or holder of a license to practice law in this state.

SB 1073 prevents Texas licensing authorities from imposing rules or penalties that discriminate against or burden applicants or licensed attorneys based on sincerely held religious beliefs, free speech (including religious or political views), religious organization membership, or freedom of association. It prohibits policies that limit license eligibility or renewal due to these protected rights, while allowing exceptions for rules strictly necessary to serve a compelling government purpose or address willful bias in legal proceedings. The bill directly affects law license applicants and holders in Texas by ensuring their constitutional rights cannot be infringed through licensing decisions. Violations can be challenged in administrative or court proceedings, though this defense cannot be used in cases involving sexual misconduct allegations or criminal prosecutions.
Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 3, 2025 Last action May 23, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Engrossed · 3 edits · May 14, 2025
MINOR
The bill text was reformatted and reorganized from an introduced draft to an engrossed version, with minor text cleanup and spacing adjustments. The substantive legal content regarding prohibited rules, policies, and penalties for the Texas State Bar remains unchanged.
TECHNICAL

Header information was updated to reflect the engrossed version status and proper bill number formatting.

Line breaks and spacing were adjusted throughout the document to improve readability and formatting consistency.

Drafting notes and page headers from the original introduced version were removed.

Floor votes · Senate May 13, 2025

How they voted

219
Passed
Total votes 30
May 13, 2025
D Democratic10
1 Yea 9 Nay
90% Nay
R Republican20
20 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
38
Key actions
11
Committee
12
May 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 22, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
May 21, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
May 21, 2025
Lower · Passed
Vote reconsidered in committee
lower
May 21, 2025
Committee
Failed to receive affirmative vote in comm.
lower
May 16, 2025
Committee
Referred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
lower
May 16, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
May 14, 2025
Introduced
Received from the Senate
lower
May 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
May 13, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (21-9)
senate
Mar 17, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
Mar 17, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendments
upper
Mar 13, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
Mar 3, 2025
Upper · Passed
Left pending in committee
upper
Mar 3, 2025
Upper · Passed
Testimony taken in committee
upper
Feb 24, 2025
Committee
Referred to State Affairs
upper
Feb 24, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
4 primary · 38 co-sponsors

Sponsors