SB 2858 Texas Senate · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to state preemption of certain municipal and county regulation.

SB 2858 aims to establish statewide consistency by preventing cities and counties from enacting regulations that conflict with state laws in areas like commerce, elections, and criminal justice. The bill would override local ordinances that create inconsistent "patchwork" rules across Texas, returning regulatory authority to the state as specified in the Texas Constitution. However, it explicitly preserves local powers to build/maintain roads, impose taxes, provide services equivalent to general-law municipalities, conduct public awareness campaigns, and amend violating ordinances to comply with the bill. The legislation does not restrict municipalities' core functions but limits their ability to create competing local rules in designated policy areas.

Issues: ✗ Criminal Justice

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 14, 2025 Last action May 27, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 5 edits · Apr 30, 2025

MODERATE

The bill text was reformatted from a draft introduction version to an official engrossed version, with substantive updates to the list of state laws preempted from local regulation and new enforcement procedures added. The changes clarify which specific state statutes take priority over local ordinances and establish a formal attorney general enforcement process with specific timelines and penalties for non-compliance.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include additional state laws under preemption and introduced new enforcement mechanisms through the attorney general, including expedited court procedures and financial penalties for local governments that violate state preemption laws.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the list of preempted state laws to include Health and Safety Code Section 1.006 and Penal Code Section 1.08, while renumbering and reorganizing the remaining statutory references.

ENFORCEMENT

Added new attorney general enforcement procedures including mandatory investigation powers, expedited court hearings, and specific penalties such as withholding of state funds and suspension of tax rate increases.

Created new civil remedies allowing private citizens to sue local governments for violations of state preemption laws, including provisions for attorney's fees and declaratory relief.

TIMELINE

Established specific deadlines for legal proceedings, including 30-day initial hearing requirements and 90-day trial deadlines for attorney general enforcement actions.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for terms like 'person' and 'no-new-revenue tax rate' to clarify the scope of financial penalties and enforcement actions.

Floor votes

How they voted

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

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 22, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report sent to Calendars

lower

May 22, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report distributed

lower

May 16, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)

lower

May 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Left pending in committee

lower

May 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee

lower

May 2, 2025

Committee

Referred to Intergovernmental Affairs

lower

May 2, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

lower

May 1, 2025

Introduced

Received from the Senate

lower

Apr 30, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

Apr 30, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed to engrossment as amended

upper

Apr 30, 2025

Upper · Passed

Amended

upper

Apr 30, 2025

Introduced

Amendment(s) offered

upper

Apr 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee report printed and distributed

upper

Apr 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably as substituted

upper

Apr 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

Vote taken in committee

upper

Apr 22, 2025

Upper · Passed

Left pending in committee

upper

Apr 22, 2025

Upper · Passed

Testimony taken in committee

upper

Apr 7, 2025

Committee

Referred to Business & Commerce

upper

Apr 7, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

upper

2 primary · 1 co-sponsor