HB 113 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to statutory construction, including restrictions on the use of certain aids to construction.

HB 113 modifies Texas law on how courts interpret statutes. It restricts courts from considering legislative intent (like statements from lawmakers or committee reports) when reading laws, requiring them to focus only on the plain text of the statute. The bill also prohibits courts from automatically deferring to state agencies' interpretations of laws, though reasonable agency views that match the statute's wording may still be considered. This directly affects courts, state agencies, and anyone involved in legal cases interpreting Texas laws. The changes aim to limit judicial interpretation methods and emphasize the written text of statutes.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Mar 14, 2025 Last action May 16, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Engrossed · 7 edits · May 15, 2025
MODERATE
This bill fundamentally changes how Texas courts interpret state laws by prohibiting the use of legislative intent, legislative history, and agency deference in statutory construction. It establishes a strict textualist approach where courts must rely solely on the plain language of statutes without considering what lawmakers intended or what agencies say about the law.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded from applying only to Chapter 311 of the Government Code to also applying to Subchapter A of Chapter 312, while repealing several existing sections.
REQUIREMENT

Courts are now prohibited from considering legislative intent, legislative history, committee reports, or statements by individual legislators when interpreting statutes.

Courts are no longer required to defer to state agency interpretations of statutes, even when those interpretations are reasonable.

Courts must enforce statutes based strictly on their plain text meaning to an ordinary English speaker without inquiry into legislative purpose.

New provisions clarify that grammatical or scrivener's errors do not invalidate laws and courts may interpret statutes to correct such errors.

Waiver of sovereign immunity requires clear and unambiguous language, and the term 'person' does not automatically include governmental entities for immunity purposes.

TIMELINE

The bill takes effect on September 1, 2025.

TECHNICAL

Several existing sections of the Government Code were repealed as part of this legislative overhaul.

Floor votes · House May 15, 2025

How they voted

8556
Passed · 5 other
Total votes 146
May 15, 2025
D Democratic60
5 Yea 53 Nay 2
88% Nay
R Republican86
80 Yea 3 Nay 3
93% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
38
Key actions
12
Committee
11
May 16, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
May 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment
lower
May 10, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 10, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
May 8, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably as substituted
lower
May 6, 2025
Lower · Passed
Returned to committee by Calendars Committee
lower
May 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Returned to Calendars Committee
lower
May 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Apr 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably as substituted
lower
Mar 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Mar 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Mar 14, 2025
Committee
Referred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
lower
Mar 14, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
5 primary · 10 co-sponsors

Sponsors