HB 3715 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to the authority of certain municipalities to use certain tax revenue for hotel and convention center projects.

HB 3715 allows specific Texas municipalities meeting defined population or geographic criteria to use designated tax revenue for hotel and convention center projects. It applies only to 17 defined city types, such as cities with populations over 95,000 in counties with specific population thresholds or bordering locations like Lake Palestine. The bill amends the Tax Code to permit these qualifying cities to redirect certain tax funds toward tourism infrastructure development. This policy change affects only municipalities that meet all specified requirements under Section 351.152.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Mar 26, 2025 Last action May 21, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Engrossed · 39 edits · May 15, 2025
MAJOR
The bill was significantly rewritten to expand the list of municipalities eligible to use hotel and convention center tax revenue. The original version had a limited set of 28 specific eligibility criteria, while the engrossed version now includes 65 distinct criteria covering a much broader range of municipalities across Texas.
Scope change
The bill's scope was substantially expanded from 28 eligibility criteria to 65 criteria, adding many new municipalities and refining existing ones with more specific geographic and population requirements.
ELIGIBILITY

Added 37 new eligibility criteria (items 28-65) covering diverse municipalities including those with specific cultural institutions, geographic features, festivals, and proximity to military installations.

Refined existing criteria with more precise geographic descriptions, such as specifying exact lake names, river locations, and population thresholds for adjacent counties.

Added new criteria for municipalities hosting specific events like annual wine festivals, peach festivals, and Cajun festivals.

Added criteria for municipalities containing specific cultural institutions like country music hall of fame, Western American art museum, and railroad museums.

Changed some criteria from 'more than 70 percent of population' to exact population thresholds for certain counties.

Added new criteria for municipalities adjacent to specific geographic features like Joe Pool Lake, Neches River, and Guadalupe River.

Added criteria for municipalities containing branch campuses of University of Houston System and component universities of Texas A&M University System.

Modified criteria for municipalities with populations under 10,000 to include those with city halls near federal space centers.

Added criteria for municipalities that are county seats of counties bordering both the Gulf of Mexico and United Mexican States.

Added criteria for municipalities containing portions of Cedar Creek Reservoir and hosting private colleges.

Added criteria for municipalities with populations over 750,000 in counties with populations of 1.5 million or less.

Added criteria for municipalities containing country music hall of fame with populations under 7,000.

Added criteria for municipalities on international borders with specific population and World Birding Center requirements.

Added criteria for municipalities within five miles of state historic sites serving as visitor centers for large state parks.

Added criteria for municipalities adjacent to at least two municipalities described in the new subdivision 15.

Added criteria for municipalities containing portions of Blanco River with historic railroad depots and heritage centers.

Added criteria for municipalities containing component universities of University of Houston System in counties with populations not exceeding 300,000.

Added criteria for municipalities adjacent to municipalities described in subdivision 31.

Added criteria for municipalities with populations over 67,000 where 90 percent of territory is in counties with at least 800,000 population.

Added criteria for municipalities with populations of 100,000 or more wholly located in counties with one million or more population but not as county seats.

Added criteria for county seats bordering both Gulf of Mexico and United Mexican States.

Added criteria for municipalities bisected by Guadalupe River and county seats with populations of 170,000 or more.

Added criteria for municipalities with populations of 70,000 to 150,000 bordering Joe Pool Lake.

Added criteria for municipalities with populations of 115,000 or more bordering the Neches River.

Added criteria for municipalities described in Section 351.101(k).

Added criteria for county seats of counties with national monuments and Brazos River flow.

Added criteria for municipalities with populations of 45,000 or more that are not county seats in single counties containing portions of Lake Lewisville.

Added criteria for county seats of counties with populations over 900,000 adjacent to two counties each with populations over 1.8 million.

Added criteria for municipalities hosting annual wine festivals in three counties each with populations over 900,000.

Added criteria for municipalities with populations of 150,000 to 1,300,000 partially located in counties containing portions of Cedar Creek Reservoir.

Added criteria for municipalities in counties containing portions of Cedar Creek Reservoir with private colleges.

Added criteria for county seats of counties with populations of one million or more adjacent to counties with populations of 2.5 million or more.

Added criteria for county seats of counties containing portions of Cedar Creek Reservoir bordering counties with populations over 240,000.

Added criteria for municipalities with populations of 80,000 to 150,000 in counties with populations of 369,000 to 864,000 containing active duty Army installations.

Added criteria for municipalities with populations of 750,000 or more in counties with populations of 1.5 million or less.

Added criteria for municipalities with populations under 7,000 containing country music hall of fame.

Added criteria for municipalities with populations of 35,000 or more containing railroad museums in counties with populations of 800,000 or more adjacent to counties with populations of four million or more.

Added criteria for county seats of counties with populations of 60,000 or less bordering the Rio Grande containing United States military forts listed in National Register of Historic Places.

Added criteria for municipalities described in Section 334.0082(a)(2) of Local Government Code.

Floor votes · House May 14, 2025

How they voted

9342
Passed · 9 other
Total votes 144
May 14, 2025
D Democratic60
55 Yea 1 Nay 4
91% Yea
R Republican84
38 Yea 41 Nay 5
48% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
25
Key actions
7
Committee
7
May 21, 2025
Committee
Referred to Economic Development
upper
May 21, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
May 15, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
May 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment
lower
May 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 6, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
May 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
Apr 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Apr 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Mar 26, 2025
Committee
Referred to Ways & Means
lower
Mar 26, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Bobby Guerra
Bobby Guerra
DDemocratic
TX
41