HB 298 Texas House · 89th Legislature, 2nd Called Session (2025)

Relating to a vacancy in the office of senator or representative due to excessive absence.

HB 298 creates a rule for when Texas state legislators lose their seats due to missing sessions. If a senator or representative misses 14 unexcused floor sessions during a regular legislative session (or 3 during a special session) without majority approval from their chamber, their seat becomes vacant. This applies only to absences occurring after the bill’s effective date and does not affect existing terms. The bill directly affects legislators who fail to attend sessions without valid justification approved by their chamber’s majority.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Aug 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Aug 26, 2025 Last action Aug 26, 2025
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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
3
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Aug 26, 2025
Committee
Referred to State Affairs
lower
Aug 26, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
5 primary · 65 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Briscoe Cain
Briscoe Cain
RRepublican
TX
128
P
Photo of Cody Harris
Cody Harris
RRepublican
TX
8
P
Photo of John McQueeney
John McQueeney
RRepublican
TX
97
P
Photo of Stan Gerdes
Stan Gerdes
RRepublican
TX
17
P
Photo of Terri Leo-Wilson
Terri Leo-Wilson
RRepublican
TX
23
Co
Photo of A.J. Louderback
A.J. Louderback
RRepublican
TX
30
Co
Photo of Alan Schoolcraft
Alan Schoolcraft
RRepublican
TX
44
Co
Photo of Andy Hopper
Andy Hopper
RRepublican
TX
64
Co
Photo of Angelia Orr
Angelia Orr
RRepublican
TX
13
Co
Photo of Ben Bumgarner
Ben Bumgarner
RRepublican
TX
63
Co
Photo of Brad Buckley
Brad Buckley
RRepublican
TX
54
Co
Photo of Brent Money
Brent Money
RRepublican
TX
2
Co
Photo of Brooks Landgraf
Brooks Landgraf
RRepublican
TX
81
Co
Photo of Carl Tepper
Carl Tepper
RRepublican
TX
84
Co
Photo of Caroline Fairly
Caroline Fairly
RRepublican
TX
87