Relating to allowing certain inmates to apply for benefits under certain public benefits programs to be provided at the time of discharge or release.
HB 4120 allows certain Texas inmates to apply for public benefits like Medicaid, food assistance (SNAP), and family planning programs before their release. It requires the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the Department of Criminal Justice to create an agreement ensuring inmates likely to qualify are assessed for benefits prior to discharge or release. If approved, benefits would begin immediately upon release, rather than after. The bill specifically covers programs including Medicaid, Healthy Texas Women, and SNAP, and mandates agencies to define their roles in processing applications. The law takes effect April 1, 2025, with rules to be adopted by the commission.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Mar 27, 2025
Last action May 14, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Engrossed
·
3 edits
·
May 14, 2025
MINOR
This bill was reformatted from a draft version to an engrossed version, with significant cleanup of formatting errors and removal of placeholder text. The substantive policy content regarding inmate benefits eligibility remains unchanged. The bill allows inmates to apply for public benefits like Medicaid and nutrition assistance before release, with an effective date of September 1, 2025.
Scope change
No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; changes are primarily formatting and cleanup from draft to final version.
TECHNICAL
Removed draft headers, page numbers, and placeholder text that were present in the introduced version
Added proper bill title, bill number formatting, and clean legislative text structure
Cleaned up inconsistent spacing, line breaks, and formatting artifacts throughout the document
Floor votes · House May 14, 2025
How they voted
79–60
Passed · 5 other
Total votes 144
May 14, 2025
D
Democratic60
98% Yea
R
Republican84
70% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
23
Key actions
7
Committee
6
May 14, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
May 13, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment
lower
May 6, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Apr 16, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
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 27, 2025
Committee
Referred to Corrections
lower
Mar 27, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
3 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Donna Howard
DDemocratic
P
Nicole Collier
DDemocratic
P
Toni Rose
DDemocratic
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