HR 616 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Honoring Donald K. Stephens for his work as the founder and president emeritus of Mercy Ships.

HR 616 is a symbolic resolution adopted by the Texas House of Representatives to honor Donald K. Stephens for his founding role and leadership as president emeritus of Mercy Ships. The resolution recognizes his decades-long work with the international charity, which provides free medical care through hospital ships in low-income countries, benefiting nearly three million people. This non-binding resolution formally expresses the Texas House's appreciation for his humanitarian efforts and awards him a commemorative copy. It does not create new laws or affect any policies.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 20, 2025 Last action Apr 1, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 4 edits

MODERATE

The document changed from a Texas House Resolution (Hefner) to an enrolled federal bill (H.R. 616), with text reorganized into a more standard legislative format and added accessibility language. The substantive content honoring Donald K. Stephens and Mercy Ships remains unchanged.

Scope change

The bill's scope changed from a state-level Texas House Resolution to a federal House bill, though the underlying purpose (honoring Donald K. Stephens) remains the same.

TECHNICAL

Added accessibility statement about TLO digital content aligning with WCAG 2.1 standards

Reformatted document from Texas House Resolution style to standard federal enrolled bill format

Removed Texas-specific legislative identifiers and changed bill number from Hefner's resolution to H.R. No. 616

Added certification statement indicating adoption by House on March 31, 2025

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the House by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 31, 2025

Lower · Passed

Adopted

lower

Mar 24, 2025

Committee

Referred to Local & Consent Calendars

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors