SB 13 Texas Senate · 89th Legislature, 2nd Called Session (2025)

Relating to the use by a political subdivision of public funds for lobbying activities.

This bill prohibits cities, counties, and other local governments (political subdivisions) from using public funds to hire registered lobbyists or pay nonprofit organizations that primarily represent local governments and hire lobbyists. It allows local officials to provide information to legislators, testify, or advocate for policy changes without triggering the restriction, and exempts associations representing sheriffs or law enforcement officers. Taxpayers can seek court orders to stop prohibited spending and recover public funds used in violation. The law aims to limit the use of public money for lobbying activities while preserving basic communication with lawmakers.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Aug 2025
Committee Review
Aug 2025
Senate Passage
Aug 2025
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Aug 15, 2025 Last action Aug 20, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Engrossed · 3 edits · Aug 19, 2025
MINOR
The bill text was reformatted from a traditional legislative format to a modern digital format, with no substantive changes to the actual policy content. The core restrictions on using public funds for lobbying activities remain exactly the same, including the same exemptions and enforcement mechanisms.
Scope change
No change in scope or applicability; only formatting and presentation were updated.
TECHNICAL

The entire document was reformatted from traditional legislative markup to a modern digital format, with line numbers and page headers removed and text reorganized for digital readability.

A new header line was added at the top indicating this is the 'Engrossed version' of SB 13.

Traditional legislative page headers, line numbers, and amendment markup symbols (like AAs and 1...1) were removed.

Floor votes · Senate Aug 18, 2025

How they voted

2012
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 33
Aug 18, 2025
D Democratic12
1 Yea 11 Nay
91% Nay
R Republican21
19 Yea 1 Nay 1
90% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
28
Key actions
6
Committee
6
Amendments
2
Aug 20, 2025
Committee
Referred to State Affairs
lower
Aug 20, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
Aug 20, 2025
Introduced
Received from the Senate
lower
Aug 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
Aug 18, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed to engrossment
upper
Aug 18, 2025
Amended
Amendment fails of adoption
upper
Aug 18, 2025
Introduced
Amendment(s) offered
upper
Aug 15, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
Aug 15, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendments
upper
Aug 15, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
Aug 15, 2025
Upper · Passed
Testimony taken in committee
upper
Aug 15, 2025
Committee
Referred to State Affairs
upper
Aug 15, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
15 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors