Rep. Cody Vasut

Maddy summaryHB 2696 requires Texas public elementary and secondary schools to display a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments in every classroom, starting with the 2025-2026 school year. The display must be at least 16 inches wide by 20 inches tall, contain only the specific text listed in the bill (including the full biblical wording), and be legible from any point in the classroom. Schools may accept privately donated displays meeting these requirements or use district funds to purchase compliant displays if needed. This law applies to all public schools and explicitly states they cannot claim exemption from this requirement.

Maddy summaryHB 2532 amends Texas law to clarify definitions for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), including nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, nurse anesthetists, and clinical nurse specialists. The bill updates licensing definitions in the Occupations Code and authorizes a fee related to these regulations. It directly affects APRNs seeking or maintaining licensure and the Texas Board of Nursing, which oversees their regulation. The key provision standardizes terminology for nursing practice definitions but does not expand APRN scope of practice or prescribe new clinical duties. This is a procedural bill focused on regulatory clarity and fee authorization, not substantive practice changes.

Maddy summaryHJR 118 is a Texas legislative resolution applying to Congress to call an Article V constitutional convention. It specifically requests a convention limited to proposing a constitutional amendment that would restrict members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to a maximum number of terms. The resolution directs Texas officials to transmit copies to Congress and other states, seeking to aggregate Texas's application with similar efforts from other states to reach the required two-thirds threshold. This is a procedural step only - it does not change term limits but aims to initiate the process for a potential constitutional amendment.

Maddy summaryHB 2519 requires property sellers and buyers (grantors and grantees) to submit a completed "notice of real property title transfer" form when recording property deeds in Texas. This form must include both parties' full names, addresses, telephone numbers, citizenship status, and social security numbers or taxpayer identification numbers. The county clerk must keep this notice separate from public property records, making it confidential under state law, though it may be shared with state agencies for government purposes. The bill directly affects all individuals or entities buying or selling real property in Texas by adding new disclosure requirements for property transfers.

Maddy summaryThis bill exempts new Texas residents from paying use tax on motor vehicles they bring into the state, but only if the vehicle was previously purchased in Texas with use tax already paid at the time of purchase. It directly affects new Texas residents who bought a vehicle in Texas before moving to the state. The exemption applies to vehicles brought into Texas, not those purchased locally after relocation. The law takes effect September 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 2085 sets a 45-day deadline for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to take custody of individuals convicted of felonies and sentenced to death, prison, or state jail confinement who are currently held in county jails. It requires TDCJ to assume custody no later than the 45th day after all required legal documents are certified under state law. This bill directly affects county jail inmates awaiting transfer to state facilities and applies only to people confined on or after September 1, 2025. The change modifies the existing timeline for TDCJ custody transfers but does not alter the underlying legal requirements for document certification.

Maddy summaryHB 2228 defines two types of student fees at Texas public universities: "academic fees" (directly tied to instruction or research) and "nonacademic fees" (like activity or facility charges). It requires universities to obtain approval from a student government with specific elected structures (including a representative assembly with at least 21 members) before imposing or changing nonacademic fees. The bill mandates that institutions post fee proposals online and hold public meetings with at least seven days' notice for student government review. Student governments must approve fee changes by a two-thirds vote of the representative body. This directly affects all public institutions of higher education in Texas and their student fee policies.

Maddy summaryHB 2232 clarifies how counties regulate two types of rental housing: "build to rent" communities (where land is divided into spaces for single-family rentals without purchase options) and manufactured home rental communities. It exempts build-to-rent communities from standard subdivision rules and allows specific coastal counties (with populations over 370,000 bordering the Gulf and adjacent to a county over 3.3 million) to set limited infrastructure standards for manufactured home communities - only covering lot size, road width, and access based on density. Property owners must follow these county standards when developing such communities. The bill directly affects counties with these specific demographics and developers planning these housing types.

Maddy summaryHB 1921 allows operators of specific off-highway vehicles - recreational side-by-side vehicles (with seating for operator and passenger) and utility vehicles - to operate on certain public roadways. It permits these unregistered vehicles on highways with speed limits of 65 mph or lower, provided the highway is not an interstate or limited-access road and the vehicle displays a license plate issued under Transportation Code Section 551A.052. The bill directly affects owners and operators of these vehicle types who currently face restrictions on public road use. The law takes effect immediately if passed with a two-thirds vote, otherwise September 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryThis bill (HB 2246) appears to be a procedural measure focused solely on standardizing the statutory terminology used to refer to a specific body of water. The bill text is not currently available in the provided context, with only a placeholder note indicating it "is coming soon." No concrete policy changes, affected parties, or key mechanisms are described in the available information. Since the bill's content is inaccessible, a factual summary cannot be provided at this time.