Texas Bills

passed · Texas · House May 8, 2025

HB 510: Relating to the issuance of a certified birth record to a homeless individual.

HB 510 requires Texas state and local officials to provide homeless individuals with free certified copies of their birth records upon request. It defines "homeless individual" as someone without a fixed residence (or staying in temporary shelters like shelters or transitional housing for the mentally ill), excluding those in prison. The law prohibits requiring a physical address for verification and mandates the state health department to create rules for confirming homelessness status. This policy change takes effect September 1, 2025, applying to applications submitted on or after that date.

Topics ✓ Housing

passed · Texas · House May 8, 2025

HB 249: Relating to installment payments of ad valorem taxes imposed on residence homesteads in certain counties.

HB 249 allows certain eligible homeowners in specific Texas counties to pay property taxes in installments instead of one lump sum. It directly affects: (1) disabled or 65+ residents with homestead exemptions, (2) disabled veterans or their unmarried surviving spouses with specific exemptions, and (3) residents in large-county areas (population >1.5 million, >70% in one municipality) qualifying for homestead exemptions. The bill amends the Tax Code to create this payment option, applying only to tax years beginning January 1, 2027, or later. It does not change exemption eligibility but provides a new payment flexibility for qualifying property owners.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Veterans

passed · Texas · House May 8, 2025

HB 200: Relating to jury instructions regarding parole eligibility and the release on parole of certain inmates convicted of an offense committed when younger than 18 years of age; changing parole eligibility.

HB 200 requires courts to provide specific written instructions to juries during the penalty phase of felony trials for defendants convicted of crimes committed before age 18 (excluding certain violent offenses like mass shootings). The instructions clarify that parole eligibility typically begins only after 20 years of actual time served in prison (not counting good conduct credits), and that parole eligibility does not guarantee release. Juries must consider parole laws generally but cannot speculate on how they might apply to the specific defendant. This change directly affects sentencing decisions for juvenile offenders in Texas felony cases, ensuring juries understand parole timelines without influencing their verdict.

Topics ✗ Criminal Justice

passed · Texas · House May 8, 2025

HB 1585: Relating to housing finance corporations and to the location of residential developments owned by those corporations.

HB 1585 restricts where housing finance corporations in Texas can operate. It limits their area of operation based on their sponsoring local government: municipal sponsors must stay within the sponsoring city's boundaries, county sponsors are limited to unincorporated county areas, and multi-sponsor corporations can only operate within all sponsoring cities' boundaries and the unincorporated areas of all sponsoring counties. The bill amends Texas Local Government Code sections to clarify these geographic boundaries for all housing finance corporations. This directly affects housing finance corporations sponsored by cities, counties, or multiple local governments across Texas.

Topics ✗ Housing

passed · Texas · House May 8, 2025

HB 3113: Relating to requiring the ballots of certain counties to be scannable.

HB 3113 requires counties in Texas that manually count paper ballots to use ballots designed to be scanned by automatic tabulating equipment. This affects counties currently conducting hand counts of paper ballots, mandating they adopt scannable ballot formats by September 1, 2025. The bill specifies that ballots must be compatible with existing election equipment to ensure accurate processing during elections.

passed · Texas · Senate May 8, 2025

SB 1588: Relating to the failure to report child abuse or neglect; increasing a criminal penalty.

SB 1588 amends Texas law to increase criminal penalties for individuals who fail to report suspected child abuse or neglect. It elevates the offense from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony when the unreported conduct involves specific severe abuses, such as sexual assault, child pornography, or trafficking. The bill applies only to offenses occurring on or after its effective date (September 1, 2025), and does not change existing reporting requirements for mandated reporters like teachers or healthcare workers. This change directly affects those required by law to report abuse who omit such reports in cases involving the listed serious offenses.

passed · Texas · House May 8, 2025

HB 4877: Relating to the Texas Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association.

HB 4877 amends Texas insurance law to clarify the scope of the Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association. It adds specific exclusions from the Association's coverage, including credit insurance, title insurance, government-guaranteed policies, and certain risk-transfer transactions (Section 2). The bill also clarifies that "claimant" includes workers' compensation claimants (Section 1) and reorganizes the Association's financial accounts by insurance line (Section 5). These changes directly affect policyholders making claims, insurers offering excluded coverages, and the Association's administrative operations, without creating new benefits or altering consumer protections.

passed · Texas · House May 8, 2025

HB 4284: Relating to an excessive discount on certain alcoholic beverages.

HB 4284 prohibits alcohol suppliers (like distillers, brewers, and wholesalers) from offering "excessive discounts" to bars and restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages. The bill amends Texas' Alcoholic Beverage Code to explicitly ban such discounts as part of broader restrictions on financial relationships between alcohol businesses and retailers. It directly affects licensed alcohol vendors (both suppliers and establishments) by making it illegal to provide excessive discounts, special advertising allowances, or other financial inducements. The law takes effect September 1, 2025, and aims to prevent suppliers from unfairly influencing retail pricing or operations.

passed · Texas · House May 8, 2025

HJR 5: Proposing a constitutional amendment providing for the creation of funds to support the capital needs of educational programs offered by the Texas State Technical College System and removing that system and its campuses from the annual appropriation of certain constitutionally dedicated funding for public institutions of higher education.

HJR 5 proposes a constitutional amendment to create two dedicated funds supporting Texas State Technical College System (TSTC) capital projects and equipment. It establishes a "permanent technical institution infrastructure fund" for long-term capital needs (like buildings) and an "available workforce education fund" for immediate operational costs, both administered outside general state funding. This would remove TSTC from annual appropriations that typically apply to other public colleges, providing the system with guaranteed funding streams for infrastructure without competing for general higher education funds. The amendment requires specific distribution rules and prohibits using these funds for non-educational purposes.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Education

passed · Texas · House May 8, 2025

HB 3719: Relating to the availability of dates of birth under the public information law.

HB 3719 requires Texas government agencies to release dates of birth in public records unless specific exceptions apply. It directly affects citizens, journalists, and researchers requesting public information, as agencies can no longer withhold dates of birth by default under the Public Information Act. The bill clarifies that dates of birth must be disclosed unless exempt under existing law (Section 552.102), federal HIPAA privacy rules (45 C.F.R. Parts 160-164), or other constitutional/statutory law. The change applies only to requests received on or after September 1, 2025 (or immediately if approved by two-thirds vote). This policy adjustment standardizes public access to dates of birth while preserving existing privacy protections.

Topics ✗ Technology

passed · Texas · House May 8, 2025

HB 5111: Relating to the regulation of campaign treasurer appointments and related matters and the content of and posting of information contained in a campaign treasurer appointment; providing a civil penalty.

HB 5111 regulates who can serve as a campaign treasurer for Texas political candidates or committees. It requires treasurers to be at least 18 and a Texas resident, while disqualifying those with certain criminal convictions, prior ethics violations, or conflicts of interest (like being a current treasurer or lobbyist). If a treasurer is found ineligible, the candidate or committee must appoint a new one within 14 business days. Violations carry civil penalties up to three times the political contributions accepted during the period of non-compliance. This bill directly affects candidates, political committees, and their appointed treasurers.

passed · Texas · House May 7, 2025

HB 514: Relating to a maternal health care workforce campaign.

HB 514 creates a state-mandated maternal health care workforce campaign to address shortages in maternal health services. It directs the Department of State Health Services to develop a public outreach initiative prioritizing continuing education, trauma-informed care training, and recruiting professionals for rural and underserved areas. The campaign specifically aims to increase the number of maternal health care professionals - such as doulas and certified providers - and boost representation of racial and ethnic minority groups in the workforce. Key provisions include facilitating training programs, expanding equipment and facility capacity, and improving access for underserved women. The law takes effect September 1, 2025.

Topics ✓ Healthcare

Bill results