SJR 57 Texas Senate · 89th Legislature (2025)

Proposing a constitutional amendment prohibiting the use of state funds to pay for the obligations of a local public retirement system.

SJR 57 proposes a constitutional amendment to prohibit Texas state funds from being used to pay debts or obligations of local public retirement systems (like city or county pension plans). It would amend the Texas Constitution to state that the state is not liable for these systems' debts and that the legislature cannot appropriate state money to cover them. This change would directly affect local retirement systems by shifting financial responsibility entirely to those systems, rather than allowing state funding to cover shortfalls. The amendment requires voter approval in the November 2025 election.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 25, 2025 Last action May 12, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Engrossed · 1 edit · Mar 31, 2025
MINOR
The bill text was reformatted from a standard legislative document layout to a more structured format with clear section headers and spacing. The substantive content of the constitutional amendment remains unchanged, as it still proposes prohibiting state funds from paying local public retirement system debts and sets the election date for November 4, 2025.
TECHNICAL

Formatting and layout were reorganized with clearer section breaks and spacing, but the actual policy language and legal requirements remain identical to the original version.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
33
Key actions
11
Committee
12
May 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
May 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Vote reconsidered in committee
lower
May 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
Apr 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Apr 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Apr 22, 2025
Committee
Referred to Pensions, Investments & Financial Services
lower
Apr 22, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
Apr 1, 2025
Introduced
Received from the Senate
lower
Mar 31, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
Mar 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
Mar 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendments
upper
Mar 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
Mar 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Testimony taken in committee
upper
Feb 28, 2025
Committee
Referred to Finance
upper
Feb 28, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
2 primary · 2 co-sponsors

Sponsors