SB 3016 Texas Senate · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to state preemption of municipal and county regulation on land use, structures, businesses, and related activities and municipal boundaries and annexation.

SB 3016 establishes state control over certain local regulations in Texas, preventing cities and counties from enacting rules on land use, business operations, structures, or municipal boundaries that conflict with state law. It allows the Attorney General to sue local governments for violations, with potential consequences including withheld state funds, restrictions on tax rates, and penalties from suspended revenue accounts. The bill explicitly preserves local authority for road maintenance, taxation, home-rule city services, public awareness campaigns, and revising ordinances that violate the law. It aims to create statewide regulatory consistency, citing concerns about conflicting local rules creating a "patchwork" of regulations. The law does not affect general tax authority or prohibit municipalities from providing services authorized by existing statutes.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Mar 14, 2025 Last action May 24, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Engrossed · 6 edits · May 8, 2025
MODERATE
The bill was substantially rewritten to establish state preemption over local regulations in areas like land use, business, and elections, while adding new legal mechanisms for private citizens to sue local governments and for the Attorney General to enforce state laws. The original text contained formatting errors and unrelated content about digital accessibility that were removed, while the new text provides comprehensive legal definitions, enforcement procedures, and penalties for local governments that violate state preemption laws.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded significantly from a general preemption statement to include specific private right of action provisions, detailed Attorney General enforcement powers, and new chapters in the Local Government Code and Civil Practice and Remedies Code that allow individuals to sue municipalities and counties for violating state preemption laws.
TECHNICAL

Removed unrelated text about digital content accessibility standards and WCAG 2.1 requirements that appeared in the original draft but were not relevant to the preemption legislation.

ENFORCEMENT

Added new provisions allowing private citizens and organizations to file lawsuits against local governments for violating state preemption laws, including specific remedies like declaratory relief and attorney's fees.

Expanded Attorney General enforcement powers to include mandatory withholding of state funds, restrictions on tax rates and budget increases, and denial of state grant funds for local governments found in violation of state preemption laws.

REQUIREMENT

Added new chapters to the Local Government Code (Chapter 40 and 250A) that establish specific preemption rules for different areas of regulation, making it clearer which local regulations are preempted by state law.

TIMELINE

Set the effective date of the Act to September 1, 2025, establishing when the new preemption laws and enforcement mechanisms will become operative.

DEFINITION

Added comprehensive definitions for key terms including 'person,' 'local government,' and 'no-new-revenue tax rate' to ensure consistent application of the preemption laws.

Floor votes · Senate May 7, 2025

How they voted

2010
Passed
Total votes 30
May 7, 2025
D Democratic10
1 Yea 9 Nay
90% Nay
R Republican20
19 Yea 1 Nay
95% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
35
Key actions
12
Committee
10
Amendments
3
May 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
May 16, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
May 12, 2025
Committee
Referred to Intergovernmental Affairs
lower
May 12, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
May 9, 2025
Introduced
Received from the Senate
lower
May 8, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
May 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed to engrossment as amended
upper
May 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
Amended
upper
May 7, 2025
Introduced
Amendment(s) offered
upper
May 7, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (20-10)
senate
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

Sponsors