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
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
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
Briscoe Cain
RRepublican
P
Cody Harris
RRepublican
P
John McQueeney
RRepublican
P
Stan Gerdes
RRepublican
P
Terri Leo-Wilson
RRepublican
Co
A.J. Louderback
RRepublican
Co
Alan Schoolcraft
RRepublican
Co
Andy Hopper
RRepublican
Co
Angelia Orr
RRepublican
Co
Ben Bumgarner
RRepublican
Co
Brad Buckley
RRepublican
Co
Brent Money
RRepublican
Co
Brooks Landgraf
RRepublican
Co
Carl Tepper
RRepublican
Co
Caroline Fairly
RRepublican
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