HB 5699 allows Harris County Municipal Utility District No. 405 (MUD 405) to exclude specific undeveloped properties from the district through written contracts with property owners. Once excluded, the property no longer receives district services but remains liable for its proportionate share of the district’s existing debt and debt service taxes until fully paid. The bill requires the district to record exclusion orders in Harris County property records and confirms that excluded property owners must pay their share of debt through annual taxes until the obligation is settled. This legislation validates MUD 405’s prior actions and establishes clear terms for territory exclusion without altering the district’s overall governance or service obligations.
SB 740 allows Texas water and sewer utilities to use new rate structures called "system improvement charges" to recover infrastructure investment costs more efficiently. It requires the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) to approve these charges and sets rules for applications, including documentation like receipts and invoices to verify costs. Utilities must file periodic updates with the PUC to adjust base rates based on these charges. The bill directly affects water and sewer utilities in Texas by changing how they can recover infrastructure costs through PUC-approved rate mechanisms, effective September 1, 2025.
HB 742 requires first responders, including firefighters and emergency medical personnel (but excluding volunteers and law enforcement officers), to complete approved human trafficking prevention training on identifying, assisting, and reporting victims. It mandates hospitals to display a specific 11x17 inch sign in emergency departments with human trafficking information, using a 16-point font as defined by the attorney general. The bill also provides legal protection for health care employees who report suspected trafficking incidents. The Health and Human Services Commission must approve training courses (including at least one free option) and maintain an online list of approved courses.
HB 2358 repeals specific training requirements for long-term care facility surveyors, personnel, providers, and ICF-IID program providers under Texas law. It removes Sections 247.066(h), 533A.066, and 22.039(b-1) and (b-2) from the Health and Safety Code and Human Resources Code. This bill directly affects staff and facilities regulated by the Health and Human Services Commission that previously had mandated training obligations. The repeal took effect immediately upon the Governor's signature on June 20, 2025, eliminating these specific training mandates.
SB 995 requires contractors operating oversize or overweight vehicles on Texas roads to secure a financial guarantee (surety bond) approved by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The bond must cover costs for highway maintenance and repairs caused by the vehicle's use, with the amount determined by TxDOT. This applies to all new contracts authorizing such vehicle crossings starting June 20, 2025, directly affecting commercial trucking companies and contractors transporting large equipment.
SB 916 strengthens consumer protections for patients receiving emergency medical services in Texas by targeting billing misconduct. It allows the state health department to revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew an emergency medical services (EMS) provider’s license if they intentionally submit incorrect billing information or repeatedly violate specific insurance billing laws. The bill also establishes limits on how much providers can adjust their billing rates annually - capping increases at either the Medicare Ambulance Inflation Factor or 10% of prior rates, whichever is lower. These provisions apply directly to EMS providers and take effect September 1, 2025, with most rate-related sections expiring in 2027.
This bill exempts child-care facilities operating under a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) certificate from certain Texas state regulations by adding them to existing exemption categories in the Human Resources Code. It specifically clarifies that facilities certified by the DoD do not need additional state licensing, as they are already regulated under federal standards. This directly affects military-connected child-care facilities that maintain DoD certification, ensuring they are not subject to redundant state oversight. The policy change removes a regulatory barrier for these facilities while maintaining alignment with federal oversight.
HB 1633 requires Texas groundwater conservation districts to consider seven specific criteria before granting or denying water permits or permit amendments. It directly affects water permit applicants (like farmers, developers, and businesses) and groundwater districts. Key provisions include evaluating impacts on existing water resources and permit holders, ensuring water use aligns with district management plans, mandating water conservation agreements, and prohibiting new permits in the Hill Country for landscape ponds unless dedicated to beneficial use. The bill also requires applicants to commit to protecting groundwater quality and following well-plugging guidelines. This law took effect immediately upon the Governor's signature on June 20, 2025.
HB 2273 allows county judges in specific large Texas counties to delegate certain duties to county commissioners. It applies to counties with populations over 1.5 million, or smaller Gulf Coast counties (350,000-370,000 population) adjacent to a county with over 3.3 million people. The bill amends Local Government Code Sections 81.028 and 81.029 to establish this delegation process. The change takes effect September 1, 2025, directly affecting county governance in those qualifying jurisdictions.
HB 2607 changes the term lengths for the Walker County Hospital District's board of managers and adjusts lease terms for hospital property. It replaces two-year terms with four-year staggered terms (with two or three members' terms expiring each even-numbered year) and increases the maximum lease term for hospital facilities from 40 to 80 years. These changes directly affect the Walker County Hospital District's governance and its ability to lease property. The bill modifies specific sections of Texas law to implement these terms and lease duration adjustments.
HB 4464 amends Texas law to clarify workers' compensation coverage for emergency response personnel. It defines "local government employee member" for Texas Task Force 1, intrastate fire mutual aid teams, and regional incident management teams, ensuring their activation service counts as regular employment. The bill specifically removes workers' compensation coverage for non-government members (like volunteers) on these teams. This change updates Education Code provisions to align with Labor Code definitions, ensuring only government-employed responders receive coverage during official activation.
HB 3159 provides a severance tax exemption for oil and gas produced from specific restimulation wells that were previously inactive. The exemption applies to wells certified by the Railroad Commission as "qualifying wells" after undergoing restimulation treatment, excluding wells with less than 60 months of prior production or those part of enhanced oil recovery projects. Hydrocarbons from these wells are exempt from severance taxes for up to 36 consecutive months or until the total exempted tax value reaches $750,000 (whichever is lower), whichever is lower. This policy directly affects oil and gas operators who perform restimulation on eligible inactive wells, reducing their tax burden during the exemption period.
