Sen. Sarah Eckhardt

Maddy summaryHB 5616 establishes the Texas Presidential Library Promotion Program to support three specific presidential libraries: the LBJ Library, George H.W. Bush Library, and George W. Bush Library. The program provides funding for exhibit renovations, promotes tourism through marketing, and develops a mobile exhibit featuring historical artifacts and educational materials about these presidents. Funding comes from gifts, grants, and legislative appropriations deposited into a dedicated account managed by the Texas Historical Commission. The law aims to enhance these libraries' roles as historical resources that attract visitors and contribute to Texas' cultural and economic landscape.

Maddy summarySB 1567 prohibits Texas home-rule municipalities from adopting zoning rules that limit the number of people occupying a dwelling unit based on age, familial status, occupation, relationship status, or family relationships. It directly affects homeowners, renters, and local governments in cities with home-rule authority by restricting certain occupancy regulations. The bill allows municipalities to still enforce occupancy limits based on health and safety standards from building codes, fire codes, health department rules, or affordable housing guidelines. Property owners can sue municipalities for violating this law and recover damages and attorney fees. The law takes effect September 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 3923 requires Texas state agencies to review and adjust job requirements to reduce reliance on bachelor's degrees for employment. Specifically, it directs classification officers to identify positions where educational requirements could be lowered, reduce the number of roles mandating a bachelor's degree, and explore career advancement paths for employees without one. The bill mandates agencies to report their findings to the governor's budget office and Legislative Budget Board by specified deadlines. This directly affects state hiring practices and employees who lack bachelor's degrees but possess relevant skills or experience. The policy change takes effect September 1, 2025, aiming to broaden state employment opportunities.

Maddy summaryHB 5560 increases maximum daily fines for violations of groundwater conservation district rules from $10,000 to $25,000 per violation. It requires courts to consider specific factors when setting penalties, including environmental harm, the violator's history, and whether they gained economic benefits from the violation. The bill also allows courts to impose fines exceeding $25,000 if a violator's economic gain from the violation was greater than the standard penalty. This directly affects groundwater conservation districts, individuals or entities violating district rules, and courts handling enforcement cases under Texas Water Code Section 36.102.

Maddy summaryHB 2508 creates a property tax exemption for the residence homestead of a surviving spouse whose veteran spouse died from a qualifying condition or disease. The exemption applies to the full appraised value of the homestead and is available to spouses who have not remarried since the veteran's death. Qualifying conditions are defined under the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022. The exemption takes effect January 1 of the tax year the surviving spouse qualifies and applies regardless of when the veteran died, provided all eligibility criteria are met. This bill amends Texas Tax Code Sections 11.136, 11.42(c), and 11.43(c) to implement the change.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates a specific segment of U.S. Highway 67 in Dallas and Ellis Counties - between U.S. Highway 287 and Interstate 20 - as the "Eddie Bernice Johnson Memorial Highway." It requires the Texas Department of Transportation to install markers at each end of the highway and at intermediate sites along the route, in addition to any existing designations. The bill has no policy or operational changes beyond this ceremonial naming, which honors the late Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. It became law on June 20, 2025, and takes effect September 1, 2025.

Maddy summarySB 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.

Maddy summarySB 710 requires Texas municipalities to maintain only one publicly accessible online message board on their primary website, prominently displayed within one click of the homepage. It allows municipal governing bodies to authorize commissions or entities under local government law to establish separate public communication systems for two-year periods, renewable as needed. These systems must comply with existing open-government rules, require municipal employee monitoring for compliance, and operate alongside any existing municipal message boards. The law applies directly to cities and towns in Texas, aiming to standardize public access to municipal communications.

Maddy summaryTexas Senate Bill 75 (SB 75) is a finding bill that establishes legislative justification for improving electric grid resilience, directly affecting vulnerable communities and critical infrastructure. The bill cites the 2021 and 2011 statewide power outages as evidence of grid vulnerabilities, highlighting disproportionate risks to elderly, underprivileged populations, and communities near industrial facilities like refineries. It emphasizes Texas' unique position as a net energy exporter with a self-contained grid and identifies weatherization of generation infrastructure as a key focus area to prevent future failures. The bill passed unanimously in committee and became law on June 20, 2025, after being signed by the Governor.

Maddy summaryHB 1211 creates a tuition and fee exemption for students who were under the conservatorship of Texas' Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) at specific points in their lives. It applies to former foster youth who were under DFPS conservatorship on their 18th birthday, during high school graduation, or on the day of adoption (after Sept. 1, 2009), and who enroll in a public Texas college as undergraduates or in dual credit courses by their 25th birthday. The exemption covers tuition and fees charged by public institutions of higher education, including dual credit courses. This policy takes effect September 1, 2025, for the 2025 fall semester.