Relating to certain hearings conducted by the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
HB 3146 amends Texas law to clarify that the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) directly conducts certain state agency hearings, replacing previous language requiring "cooperation with" SOAH. The bill updates sections in the Agriculture, Human Resources, Labor, and Transportation Codes to specify that SOAH administrative law judges will either enter final decisions or propose decisions to agency commissioners for final action. This affects state agencies that use SOAH for hearings and the individuals or businesses participating in those proceedings. The bill was signed into law on June 20, 2025, and takes effect September 1, 2025.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
Jun 2025
Introduced Mar 20, 2025
Signed Jun 20, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Engrossed
→
Enrolled
·
1 edit
·
Jun 20, 2025
MINOR
The bill text was reformatted from a draft version to the final enrolled version, with no substantive policy changes. The core provisions regarding administrative hearings remain identical, including hearing procedures, repeals of specific code sections, and the effective date of September 1, 2025.
TECHNICAL
Formatting and layout changes from draft to enrolled version, including removal of draft annotations, addition of official signatures and certification statements, and reorganization of line breaks and spacing.
Floor votes · House May 6, 2025
How they voted
This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
46
Key actions
16
Committee
11
Jun 20, 2025
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor
executive
May 25, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed in the Senate
upper
May 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed in the House
lower
May 22, 2025
Lower · Passed
Senate passage reported
lower
May 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
May 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
May 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendments
upper
May 13, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
May 12, 2025
Upper · Passed
Left pending in committee
upper
May 7, 2025
Committee
Referred to Economic Development
upper
May 7, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
May 6, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 6, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
May 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment
lower
Apr 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
Apr 25, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Apr 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
Apr 16, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Apr 16, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Mar 20, 2025
Committee
Referred to Delivery of Government Efficiency
lower
Mar 20, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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