Relating to the business court.
HB 40 is a procedural bill that clarifies and streamlines operations for Texas' business court. It requires all business court prefiling orders to apply statewide (Section 1), mandates that appeals from business court cases go directly to the 15th Court of Appeals with a 120-day resolution deadline (Section 2), and specifies how to replace lost business court records (Section 3). The bill also adds business court clerks to authorized personnel for taking depositions (Section 4) and requires specific information in initial pleadings for all business court cases (Section 5). These changes directly affect parties involved in business court litigation and court staff handling business court cases. The bill became effective September 1, 2025, after being signed by the Governor.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
Jun 2025
House Passage
Jun 2025
Senate Passage
Jun 2025
Signed into Law
Jun 2025
Introduced Mar 17, 2025
Signed Jun 20, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Engrossed
→
Enrolled
·
5 edits
·
Jun 20, 2025
MODERATE
This bill updates the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code to expand the scope of the Business Court's jurisdiction and clarify procedural rules for appeals, recusal motions, and arbitration proceedings. The changes primarily add new grounds for interlocutory appeals, modify venue and filing requirements, and ensure consistency across different court types.
Scope change
The bill expands the Business Court's jurisdiction by adding new appeal grounds and clarifying its role in arbitration and special judge proceedings.
SCOPE
Added new grounds for interlocutory appeals from the Business Court, including special appearances, pleas to jurisdiction, and summary judgment motions related to specific statutes.
ELIGIBILITY
Modified recusal motion requirements to clarify that tertiary recusal motions must include specific facts supporting each element of the claim.
REQUIREMENT
Added new subsections to arbitration procedures requiring courts to appoint arbitrators and take measures when parties fail to comply with appointment procedures.
DEFINITION
Updated definitions to include the Business Court as a distinct court type in various sections of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
TECHNICAL
Removed formatting inconsistencies and updated bill header information to reflect the enrolled version.
Floor votes · Senate May 28, 2025 · House May 13, 2025
How they voted
24–6
Passed
Total votes 30
May 28, 2025
D
Democratic10
60% Nay
R
Republican20
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
74
Key actions
22
Committee
14
Amendments
9
Jun 20, 2025
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor
executive
Jun 2, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed in the Senate
upper
Jun 2, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed in the House
lower
Jun 1, 2025
Upper · Passed
Senate adopts conference committee report
upper
Jun 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
House adopts conference committee report
lower
May 30, 2025
Upper · Passed
House requests conference committee-reported
upper
May 30, 2025
Lower · Passed
House requests conference committee
lower
May 30, 2025
Introduced
House refuses to concur in Senate amendments
lower
May 29, 2025
Introduced
Senate Amendments Analysis distributed
lower
May 29, 2025
Introduced
Senate Amendments distributed
lower
May 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
Senate passage as amended reported
lower
May 28, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
May 28, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed to 3rd reading as amended
upper
May 28, 2025
Upper · Passed
Amended
upper
May 28, 2025
Introduced
Amendment(s) offered
upper
May 25, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
May 25, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably as substituted
upper
May 21, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
May 15, 2025
Committee
Referred to Jurisprudence
upper
May 15, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
May 14, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 13, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
May 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment as amended
lower
May 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Amended
lower
May 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Apr 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably as substituted
lower
Apr 9, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Apr 9, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Mar 17, 2025
Committee
Referred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
lower
Mar 17, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
6 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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