HB 4473 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to a study by the Texas Department of Transportation of the construction and maintenance of certain county road systems in this state.

HB 4473 requires the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to study how counties manage road construction and maintenance across five statewide road systems. The study will inventory each county's adopted system, compare 25-year cost data for the 20 most populous counties in each system (adjusted for inflation), and rank the systems by cost-effectiveness for taxpayers. This affects all Texas counties that operate under one of the five county road administration systems described in the Transportation Code. TxDOT must submit a final report with findings and recommendations to state leaders by December 1, 2026, with the bill expiring January 1, 2027.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Apr 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Apr 3, 2025 Last action May 15, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Engrossed · 4 edits · May 15, 2025
MODERATE
The bill was updated from an introduced version to an engrossed version, adding new requirements for studying county roads along the Texas-Mexico border. The changes focus on identifying unpaved roads near the border, assessing their impact on border security, and evaluating costs for improvements.
Scope change
The bill's scope was expanded to include specific requirements for county roads located in counties that border the United Mexican States, adding a border security component to the existing study on county road systems.
REQUIREMENT

Added new subsection (c-1) requiring the department to identify unpaved or substandard county roads in counties bordering Mexico and assess their impact on border security operations.

Added requirement to evaluate the feasibility and estimated cost of paving or upgrading roads that significantly impact border security.

Added requirement to include recommendations for prioritizing road improvements based on public safety and national security relevance in the final report.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting changes including bill number updates and removal of line numbers from the original text.

Floor votes · House May 14, 2025

How they voted

10231
Passed · 9 other
Total votes 142
May 14, 2025
D Democratic60
58 Yea 1 Nay 1
96% Yea
R Republican82
44 Yea 30 Nay 8
53% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
27
Key actions
10
Committee
7
Amendments
2
May 15, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
May 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment as amended
lower
May 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Amended
lower
May 14, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (102-31-9)
house
May 8, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 8, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
May 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
May 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
Recalled from subcommittee
lower
Apr 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in subcommittee
lower
Apr 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in subcommittee
lower
Apr 3, 2025
Committee
Referred to s/c on Transportation Funding by Speaker
lower
Apr 3, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Terry Canales
Terry Canales
DDemocratic
TX
40