HB 1587 extends a temporary sales tax exemption for clothing, footwear, and certain school items in Texas. It exempts items priced under $100 from sales tax during a specific period: from 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August (before the 15th day before the school start date) through 12 a.m. Sunday of the following week. This directly benefits families purchasing essential school supplies before the new academic year begins. The bill takes effect September 1, 2025, and does not affect tax liabilities accrued before that date.
HB 25 requires Texas public schools to provide daily physical activity for students in prekindergarten through grade 8, mandating at least 30 minutes of moderate/vigorous activity per day for younger students (pre-K-grade 5) and 135-225 minutes weekly for middle schoolers (grades 6-8), with scheduling flexibility. It directly affects all Texas public school students in these grades and prohibits school staff from withholding physical activity as punishment for academic or behavioral reasons. The bill also adds a new requirement that higher education institutions receiving certain funds must develop nutrition curricula aligned with Texas nutrition guidelines. This legislation focuses on structured physical education and activity standards, not on nutrition food policies. The bill is currently pending in committee after being favorably reported as substituted.
HB 5290 requires the Texas Department of Transportation to transfer six specific parcels of state-owned land in Houston (totaling about 4.7 acres near downtown) to the University of Houston by December 31, 2025. The university must use the property solely for purposes benefiting the public interest of Texas, and ownership automatically reverts to the DOT if it’s used for any other purpose. The bill specifies the exact legal descriptions of each parcel, including locations along Milam Street and Interstate 10. This transfer is a direct property conveyance with no financial obligation to the university, focusing solely on land ownership change under defined public-use conditions.
HB 1221 increases the maximum reimbursement fee for pretrial intervention programs in Texas from $500 to $1,200 per defendant. This change directly affects county and district attorneys' offices, which will collect the higher fee to cover program-related expenses like administrative costs. The bill applies only to offenses committed on or after September 1, 2025, with prior cases governed by the previous $500 fee limit.
HB 2063 requires the Texas A&M Forest Service to create and maintain a real-time statewide database tracking all firefighting equipment available for wildfire response. It mandates that the database include equipment types, department contact information, and searchable features by location and equipment type, accessible to all fire departments (including volunteer departments and emergency services districts). Fire departments must update their equipment status annually or after changes, with the Forest Service providing assistance for this process. The bill aims to improve coordination during wildfires by providing a centralized, accessible inventory of available resources across the state, effective September 1, 2025.
HB 1913, nicknamed "Brooke's Boundary," prohibits registered sex offenders from approaching within a specified distance of the residence of a victim they harmed in a specific offense requiring registration. It directly affects sex offenders who have been convicted of crimes against identifiable victims, restricting their movement near those victims' homes. The law adds this restriction to existing registration requirements under Texas law, ensuring offenders cannot live or travel near victims' residences without authorization. This is a policy change focused on geographic restrictions, not on altering registration procedures or penalties.
HB 1029 requires the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to install and maintain highway signs on Interstate 10 east and west of the U.S. Highway 67 intersection to guide travelers to the Museum of the Big Bend. The bill specifically allows TxDOT to bypass standard distance limitations in traffic control devices for this sign, while still complying with all other federal and state traffic control standards. This legislation directly affects TxDOT’s signage policies and travelers visiting the Museum of the Big Bend in the Big Bend region. The bill takes effect September 1, 2025, and does not alter broader TxDOT policies beyond this specific sign installation.
HB 3638 requires Texas state agencies to give preference to goods and services produced or provided by Texas-based businesses when cost and quality are equal. It creates a two-tier preference system: first preference for goods/services from Texas businesses owned by service-disabled veteran residents, and second preference for other Texas businesses. The bill specifically applies to agricultural products, native vegetation for landscaping, and advertising services, with definitions clarifying "Texas bidder" as businesses incorporated, headquartered, or operating physically in Texas. This policy directly affects state procurement decisions and Texas businesses competing for state contracts.
HB 2767 prohibits Texas counties and municipalities from regulating online marketplaces like Amazon or Airbnb, or requiring them to share user data without a court order. It defines "online global marketplace" as platforms facilitating transactions through payment systems, communication, infrastructure, or virtual currency. The law blocks local governments from creating their own rules for these platforms, preempting existing or future local regulations. The bill takes effect September 1, 2025.
HB 2207 prevents cities, counties, or school districts from asking voters to approve bonds for a specific project if that same project was rejected in a bond election within the past two years. It prohibits re-submitting identical bond proposals for voter approval during this two-year window. The rule applies only to bond elections ordered on or after September 1, 2025, and does not affect proposals for new projects or those never previously voted on. This is a procedural change to local government bond election rules.
HB 3046 allows motor vehicle owners to display only a rear license plate instead of front and rear plates by paying a $50 annual fee. To qualify, vehicles must display a special state-issued sticker on the windshield for validation. The bill amends Texas Transportation Code to create this option, require the windshield sticker, and direct the $50 fee into the state highway fund. It applies to all registered vehicles choosing this configuration, with enforcement rules updated to reflect the new requirement.
HB 4218 amends Texas public information law to improve access to electronic government records. It defines "electronic public information" as searchable or sortable spreadsheets or databases, requiring government agencies to provide such records in the requested format (e.g., searchable/ sortable) using their standard software, or as a paper printout. Agencies cannot refuse to share electronic records by claiming it would require extra work to format them, as long as their systems support standard export methods like ASCII. This ensures the public can access government data in usable electronic form without unnecessary barriers.
