Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has issued the following vote notice for May 6th, 2025

Texas House of Representatives

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Subject: House Bill 123 (HB 123) – State education spending expansion

• Author: State Rep. Harold Dutton Jr (D-Houston)
• Caption:
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • HB 123 creates a sprawling and expensive new education bureaucracy aimed at early reading and math skills, but it does so at significant taxpayer cost—over $314 million in just the first two years. It mandates school districts and charters adopt TEA-approved testing tools and interventions, placing a top-down burden on local educators. The bill empowers the state education commissioner to direct extensive teacher training academies and enforce compliance, sidelining local flexibility. While the goal of improving early literacy is important, this bill expands government control over schools and centralizes decisions in Austin rather than empowering parents or teachers. It also creates complex new funding allotments and grant mechanisms, with clawback provisions that could penalize districts. These new mandates come with no corresponding accountability for results or cost containment. From a fiscally conservative perspective, this is an unfunded mandate masked as reform that grows bureaucracy without real structural change. Instead of adding layers of state-run programming, Texas should simplify the system and let parents and educators drive solutions at the local level.

Subject: House Bill 111 (HB 111) – Expands transparency

• Author: State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake)
• Caption: Relating to the applicability of the public information law, including the disclosure of information in the possession, custody, or control of certain governmental bodies.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • HB 111 aims to strengthen public access to government records by tightening the rules under which agencies and political bodies can withhold information. It brings more nonprofit groups that receive public funds under the umbrella of open records laws, closing a common loophole. It also limits legal privilege claims by government attorneys, ensuring that public entities cannot hide routine documents behind vague legal protections. Importantly, the bill instructs the Attorney General to interpret disclosure exceptions narrowly and always favor transparency. By repealing secrecy provisions for high-level public hiring processes, it promotes public oversight in how taxpayer-funded leadership positions are filled. The bill is a positive step toward government accountability.

Subject: House Bill 342 (HB 342) – Election precinct efficiency reform

• Author: State Rep. Richard Hayes (R-Hickory Creek)
• Caption: Relating to the combination of certain election precincts.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • HB 342 is a practical election reform that allows counties to combine small precincts to avoid unnecessary spending on election logistics. By tailoring precinct sizes based on population thresholds, the bill helps ensure taxpayer dollars aren’t wasted on underused polling stations. It maintains essential safeguards against voter suppression, striking a balance between fiscal responsibility and electoral integrity. 

Subject: House Bill 1027 (HB 1027) – Cuts pharmacy red tape

• Author: State Rep. Matt Shaheen (R-Plano)
• Caption: Relating to the provision of telepharmacy services.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • HB 1027 takes meaningful steps toward expanding healthcare access in underserved Texas communities by lifting outdated and burdensome restrictions on telepharmacy operations. By eliminating arbitrary mileage limits and removing the requirement for monthly pharmacist visits, the bill enables greater flexibility and cost-efficiency in pharmacy service delivery, especially in rural areas. It also allows remote dispensing sites to distribute essential medications, including Schedule II drugs, which are often needed for serious conditions. This reform reduces unnecessary regulatory overhead, allowing pharmacies to operate more efficiently. HB 1027 encourages private-sector innovation instead of government spending to solve access issues. The bill supports limited government by scaling back state micromanagement and outdated rules. Though modest, this reform helps bridge the gap between rural needs and modern technology without expanding bureaucracy.

Subject: House Bill 610 (HB 610) – Superintendent severance payouts

• Author: State Rep. Terri Leo-Wilson (R-Galveston)
• Caption: Relating to a severance payment to a superintendent of a school district.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • HB 610 reins in excessive severance payouts to school superintendents by capping them at six months of pay and benefits, down from the current one-year standard. By limiting golden parachutes, it protects local taxpayers from footing the bill for bloated exit packages—some of which have exceeded $1 million. The bill also adds teeth by docking state funding if a district violates the cap. It ensures transparency by requiring severance terms to be reported to the state. While modest, this reform is a step toward protecting taxpayer dollars and minimizing administrative excess in Texas schools. It’s a common-sense move toward leaner, more accountable local government.

Subject: House Bill 1277 (HB 1277) – Pest study requirement

• Author: State Rep. Mary González (D-San Elizario)
• Caption: Relating to the study of plant disease and pest outbreaks by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • HB 1277 creates a new bureaucratic mandate requiring Texas A&M AgriLife to annually document every plant disease and pest outbreak in Texas, regardless of size or impact. This bill adds another layer of administrative obligation without clear limitations, cost safeguards, or outcome-based standards. The reporting obligations divert time and resources toward documentation instead of direct support for farmers or pest mitigation. This approach represents another example of expanding government duties without meaningful accountability or measurable taxpayer benefit. Rather than creating more studies, lawmakers should prioritize deregulation and efforts that empower the private sector.

Subject: House Bill 4751 (HB 4751) – Corporate Welfare Expansion

• Author: State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake)
• Caption: Relating to the establishment and administration of the Texas Quantum Initiative.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • HB 4751 creates a new taxpayer-backed initiative to promote the quantum computing industry in Texas. It establishes an executive committee and a new fund to coordinate research and investment efforts and award grants to public institutions and private businesses. While the bill aims to make Texas a leader in emerging technologies, it does so by expanding the bureaucracy within the Office of the Governor, adding new staff, and creating an ongoing cost burden. The projected $3.5 million in startup costs—plus unlimited potential for future grants—creates a new spending stream at the expense of taxpayers. This is another form of unnecessary corporate welfare. Economic development should be led by the private sector, which is far more efficient and responsive, not through state-funded grant programs that distort markets and reward politically connected firms. Moreover, the bill opens the door to long-term obligations and vague strategic mandates that could grow government. The better approach would be to eliminate corporate subsidies and reduce regulatory barriers so innovation can thrive without taxpayer underwriting.

Subject: House Bill 4488 (HB 4488) – Budget gimmick/loophole extension

• Author: State Rep. Greg Bonnen (R-Friendswood)
• Caption: Relating to the creation and re-creation of funds and accounts, the dedication and rededication of revenue and allocation of accrued interest on dedicated revenue, and the exemption of unappropriated money from use for general governmental purposes.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • HB 4488 is a technical bill that pretends to clean up the state’s finances but instead makes it easier for lawmakers to rely on accounting tricks to pass bigger budgets. It extends the use of a loophole that lets the state count money from dedicated funds—meant for specific purposes—as if it were free to spend elsewhere, inflating the revenue estimate without raising taxes or making actual cuts. They inflate the revenue side of the budget equation using fund balances that aren’t truly free to spend. It also claims to “abolish” new dedicated funds created this session, but most funds are exempted, making this part largely meaningless and just for show. The bill extends the expiration date of this certification loophole to 2027, ensuring that lawmakers can keep using these tricks next session. Instead of promoting real fiscal discipline, HB 4488 enables more spending while avoiding hard choices. It disguises revenue manipulation as reform. For these reasons, TFR opposes HB 4488.

Subject: House Bill 2248 (HB 2248) – Strengthens transparency laws

• Author: State Rep. John Smithee (R-Amarillo)
• Caption: Relating to the public information law.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • HB 2248 takes meaningful steps to strengthen transparency and hold government entities more accountable to public records requests. It closes loopholes that allowed agencies to delay responses or dodge court penalties by releasing information at the last minute. The bill ensures timely communication and creates a complaint mechanism that empowers everyday Texans when agencies stonewall. By mandating attorney fees be paid when government misbehavior forces legal action, the bill discourages bureaucratic gamesmanship. These reforms are not only pro-taxpayer, but they also help check runaway administrative power.

Subject: House Bill 3743 (HB 3743) – Limits agency bloat

• Author: State Rep. Mike Olcott (R-Aledo)
• Caption: Relating to the management-to-staff ratio requirement for state agencies.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • HB 3743 is a commonsense reform that helps rein in bureaucratic growth by capping the number of managers state agencies can employ. It applies an 11-to-1 staff-to-manager ratio across all agencies, closing loopholes that previously let some departments sidestep this efficiency standard. The bill encourages agencies to trim unnecessary managerial layers and focus resources on front-line staff who actually carry out government functions. This kind of structural reform reduces waste, improves accountability, and helps protect taxpayers from having to fund oversized administrative hierarchies. By requiring every agency to justify and limit its management hires, the bill promotes leaner, more effective government.

Subject: House Bill 3801 (HB 3801) – New costly healthcare bureaucracy

• Author: State Rep. Angelia Orr (R-Itasca)
• Caption: Relating to the establishment of the Health Professions Workforce Coordinating Council and the abolition of the statewide health coordinating council and the nursing advisory committee of that council.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • HB 3801 expands bureaucracy by replacing an existing council with a larger, more expensive entity that adds new advisory groups and nine additional full-time state employees. While it claims to streamline healthcare workforce planning, it instead creates new government layers at a cost of nearly $3 million in just two years, with $1.6 million in costs every year thereafter. The bill centralizes workforce analysis within the Department of State Health Services, increasing government involvement in decisions that could be made more efficiently by the private sector, educational institutions, or local health providers. It formalizes new committees, working groups, and mandates without meaningful cost controls or sunset provisions. The council’s vague scope of “strategic planning” risks mission creep and a steady expansion of its influence—and cost—over time. Texans already fund multiple agencies that deal with health and education; this bill simply reshuffles the deck and adds overhead.

Subject: House Bill 2967 (HB 2967) – New school health care subsidy

• Author: State Rep. Harold Dutton Jr (D-Houston)
• Caption: Relating to vision screenings for students in public or private school, including vision screening information reporting for public school students and the creation of a vision care allotment under the Foundation School Program.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • HB 2967 mandates new bureaucratic reporting by public schools and creates a new annual entitlement under the school finance formula for vision-related services. While well-meaning, this bill adds $35 million in new spending over the next two years, with tens of millions every year there after, without clear accountability or proven outcomes. It shifts education funding further toward social services, straying from the core mission of academic instruction. Reimbursing parents and subsidizing vision care creates a healthcare-style entitlements administered through the education system. The bill adds administrative burdens on school districts to track and report personal student health data. This program expands government’s role in personal medical issues at taxpayer expense. For these reasons, TFR opposes HB 2967.

Subject: House Bill 2298 (HB 2298) – Government grants

• Author: State Rep. Suleman Lalani (D-Sugar Land)
• Caption: Relating to a health care facility grant program supporting the use of artificial intelligence technology in scanning medical images for cancer detection.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • HB 2298 sets up a new state grant program to subsidize hospitals and clinics that want to use artificial intelligence to detect cancer in medical images. While the idea may have merit in theory, this bill expands government spending by millions without sufficient safeguards against waste or duplication of services already funded through private or federal channels. The program creates a new administrative burden at the state level, requiring a full-time employee and long-term oversight through 2035. With only five grants per year, it has limited reach but incurs significant cost, making its efficiency highly questionable. The state would be picking technological winners and loser in the healthcare sector, potentially crowding out private innovation and market-driven solutions. From a limited government perspective, this is another instance of mission creep in public health, at taxpayer expense. Instead, lawmakers should focus on cutting waste and returning surplus funds to taxpayers, and eliminating regulatory burdens on healthcare providers and innovators.

Subject: House Bill 4014 (HB 4014) – Million Dollar Research

• Author: State Rep. John Bucy (D-Austin)
• Caption: Relating to a study on the use of psychedelic therapies in the treatment of certain conditions.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • HB 4014 calls for a taxpayer-funded study on using psychedelic drugs like MDMA and psilocybin to treat mental health conditions such as PTSD and depression. While research in this area is ongoing nationally, this bill would obligate Texas to spend $1 million in public funds on a study that duplicates work already being done elsewhere, including by federal agencies. It opens the door to expanding taxpayer-backed health programs for controversial treatments with uncertain regulatory futures. This represents an unnecessary expansion of state activity and spending into health policy at taxpayer expense, when efforts at the private sector level should be the goal.

Subject: House Bill 3627 (HB 3627) – SBOE operational independence

• Author: State Rep. Carl Tepper (R-Lubbock)
• Caption: Relating to allowing the chair of the State Board of Education to employ personnel to assist in performing the board’s duties.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • HB 3627 improves accountability and operational efficiency within the State Board of Education (SBOE) by allowing the elected Chair to hire a small team of direct support staff. This reform empowers elected leadership to fulfill its constitutional duties without relying solely on the Texas Education Agency (TEA), which is run by unelected bureaucrats. By ensuring these staff report directly to the SBOE Chair, the bill strengthens responsiveness to Texas voters. It also helps reduce dependency on TEA’s internal priorities, which may not always align with those of the SBOE or the public. While the bill adds modest recurring costs, it does so transparently and with legislative oversight, rather than creating unaccountable or bloated structures. These positions are limited in number and focus strictly on board support, not programmatic expansion. From a limited government standpoint, this helps to ensure that more authority and accountability rests with elected officials, not entrenched bureaucratic agencies.

Subject: House Bill 510 (HB 510) – Free birth certificates at taxpayer expense

• Author: State Rep. Ray Lopez (D-San Antonio)
• Caption: Relating to the issuance of a certified birth record to a homeless individual.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • HB 510 requires Texas to issue free certified birth certificates to individuals identified as homeless, and bars the state from asking for a physical address as part of the application. It creates new administrative duties for the Health and Human Services Commission, which must develop a system to verify someone’s homelessness status. While well-intentioned, the bill creates an open-ended benefit that could be difficult to administer without fraud or misuse. It also shifts the cost burden to taxpayers without any guardrails or offsetting savings elsewhere in the budget. Granting government documents at no cost sets a concerning precedent of exempting certain groups from fees everyone else must pay, eroding fairness in state services. Furthermore, this approach expands bureaucracy instead of encouraging civil society or private nonprofits to help vulnerable populations. 

Subject: House Bill 5111 (HB 5111) – Political Engagement regulations

• Author: State Rep. Drew Darby (R-San Angelo)
• Caption: Relating to the regulation of campaign treasurer appointments and related matters and the content of and posting of information contained in a campaign treasurer appointment; providing a civil penalty.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • HB 5111 imposes a broad and complex set of new regulations on campaign treasurer eligibility, expanding the authority of the Texas Ethics Commission while adding new bureaucratic layers to the political process. This bill creates arbitrary disqualifications, such as banning registered lobbyists or committee employees from serving as treasurers, even for unrelated entities, which undermines voluntary civic participation. It delegates investigatory power to TEC and opens the door to politically motivated enforcement. The civil penalties—up to three times the contributions received—are excessive and could be weaponized to silence grassroots efforts. While it claims to modernize ethics law, HB 5111 ultimately expands government oversight and red tape in campaign operations, threatening to stifle political engagement.

Subject: House Bill 5446 (HB 5446) – Transparency on ballot propositions

• Author: State Rep. Ellen Troxclair (R-Spicewood)
• Caption: Relating to the text of ballot propositions that increase taxes.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • HB 5446 enhances taxpayer transparency by requiring all ballot propositions that impose or increase taxes to include a clear, prominent warning stating: “THIS IS A TAX INCREASE.” By ensuring that voters understand the financial impact of their decisions, this measure promotes fiscal responsibility and accountability in local government spending. This is a common sense measure, and TFR supports SB 1025.

Subject: House Bill 3963 (HB 3963) – New interagency bureaucracy

• Author: State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake)
• Caption: Relating to an early childhood integrated data system.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • HB 3963 creates a new centralized data system by mandating collaboration between five major state agencies and designating TEA as the lead bureaucracy. While marketed as an efficiency measure, this bill creates a new layer of government complexity and spending, adding $3.26 million in costs and five new full-time state employees with no clear cap. It builds infrastructure to track children and families across multiple programs, raising concerns about unnecessary data collection, privacy concerns and mission creep. Instead of streamlining existing agencies, it grows bureaucracy under the guise of integration. Ultimately, this bill expands government data collection without delivering real accountability or cost savings. Taxpayers deserve leaner government, not new projects with open-ended funding and oversight concerns.

Subject: House Bill 1661 (HB 1661) – Election integrity

• Author: State Rep. Cody Vasut (R-Angleton)
• Caption: Relating to election supplies and the conduct of elections; creating criminal offenses; increasing criminal penalties.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • HB 1661 strengthens election integrity by ensuring polling places are properly stocked with ballots, so voters are not turned away due to bureaucratic incompetence. By requiring local election officials to provide more ballots than were used in prior elections, the bill adds a common-sense safeguard against ballot shortages. It introduces real consequences for officials who deliberately fail to meet this basic duty, helping prevent future election-day crises. Additionally, the bill raises penalties for obstructing election supply logistics and leaking sensitive information before polls close—helping deter bad actors. Its targeted enforcement approach avoids bloating bureaucracy while improving reliability in election administration.

Texas Senate

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Subject: Senate Bill 986 (SB 986) – Public Information process

• Author: State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston)
• Caption: Relating to procedures under the public information law, including expedited responses and charges for bad faith requests.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE / AMEND
• Background: 
  • SB 986 seeks to streamline the Public Information Act process, but its centerpiece—Subchapter K—poses serious transparency and accountability concerns. While the bill tries reduces delays and encourages efficiency, it allows government entities to bypass oversight by letting them decide what information to withhold without first getting approval from the Attorney General. This shift could create costly inefficiencies as inconsistent and potentially unlawful redactions force more appeals, bogging down the system further. Taxpayers should be concerned that the bill weakens a vital check against government secrecy and risks abuse by poorly trained or bad-faith actors. The new process lacks sufficient guardrails and may lead to an increase in litigation. Although there are penalties and revocation options, these are after-the-fact remedies rather than proactive protections. A better approach would preserve AG pre-clearance while speeding up the timeline, maintaining consistent statewide enforcement. Subchapter K, as written, sacrifices transparency in the name of convenience and should be restructured or removed.

Subject: Senate Bill 1444 (SB 1444) – HOT and Sales tax diversion

• Author: State Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels)
• Caption: Relating to the authority of certain municipalities to use certain tax revenue derived from a hotel and convention center project.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • SB 1444 extends state hotel and sales tax rebates to a single city and continues the problematic pattern of diverting state revenue to subsidize local convention center projects that often fail to deliver promised economic returns. This subsidy model benefits developers and city governments while shifting tax burdens of millions of dollars to the rest of the state. From a limited government standpoint, the state should not be in the business of funding local real estate projects through indirect tax subsidies. These deals also reduce transparency and create unfair advantages for select municipalities.

Subject: Senate Bill 1556 (SB 1556) – HOT and Sales tax diversion

• Author: State Sen. Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton)
• Caption: Relating to the authority of certain municipalities to use certain tax revenue for hotel and convention center projects.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • SB 1556 expands a tax rebate program allowing Marble Falls to keep certain state tax revenues tied to a proposed hotel and convention center development. For 10 years, the city would divert sales and hotel taxes away from the state budget to help pay off bonds or debts related to the project. While this may benefit local developers and city planners, it does so at the expense of the state’s General Revenue Fund, with projected losses beginning at $446,000 annually and growing over time. The bill continues a problematic trend of special carve-outs for handpicked municipalities, creating an uneven economic playing field. Instead of broad-based tax relief, the state is subsidizing niche projects with questionable statewide benefit. From a limited government standpoint, the state should not be in the business of funding local real estate projects through indirect tax subsidies. These deals also reduce transparency and create unfair advantages for select municipalities.

Subject: Senate Bill 1999 (SB 1999) – Protects speech on biological sex

• Author: State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola)
• Caption: Relating to protection for a public employee’s or student’s use of terms consistent with biological sex.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 1999 ensures that public employees and students in Texas cannot be punished for using language that aligns with a person’s biological sex. It protects freedom of speech and religious expression for educators, public workers, and students. This bill helps limit government overreach into personal speech. By affirming a clear and biologically grounded standard for language in public settings, the bill provides clarity for school districts and state agencies. It respects constitutional freedoms without imposing new mandates or expanding government power. Additionally, it avoids the imposition of ideological conformity in taxpayer-funded environments.

Subject: Senate Bill 2452 (SB 2452) – Protects taxpayers from biased valuations

• Author: State Sen. Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills)
• Caption: Relating to the compensation of the chief appraiser of an appraisal district.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 2452 puts a stop to performance-based pay schemes that incentivize chief appraisers to push property values higher. While current law already bars direct pay incentives based on increasing property values, some appraisal districts have worked around this rule with vague contract terms. This bill closes that loophole by banning any form of compensation—direct or indirect—tied to the expectation that values will go up. It strengthens taxpayer protections by helping ensure property appraisals are based on reality, not budget padding or performance targets. This prevents a conflict of interest where the people setting your property value have a personal financial stake in raising it. It also promotes a neutral and trustworthy appraisal process, helping to prevent backdoor tax increases.

Subject: Senate Bill 2586 (SB 2586) – HOA transparency

• Author: State Sen. Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton)
• Caption: Relating to information that a property owners’ association must file with the Texas Real Estate Commission.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 2586 requires homeowners’ associations to post their rules, fee schedules, and enforcement policies online in a centralized, state-run system. Right now, many HOAs keep this information hidden until after a homebuyer signs a contract, creating surprise fees and unfair terms. By enforcing timely public disclosure, this bill helps prospective homeowners make informed choices without unnecessary financial risk. It holds HOAs accountable by suspending their ability to collect fines or fees if they refuse to comply. The bill increases fairness and transparency without new taxes or spending.

Subject: House Bill 912 (HB 912) – Flexible energy compensation

• Author: State Rep. Joseph Moody (D-El Paso)
• Caption: Relating to the compensation of a distributed renewable generation owner in certain areas outside of ERCOT.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • HB 912 allows Texas regulators to approve new, potentially more efficient methods for compensating small-scale renewable energy producers who are located outside of ERCOT. This change helps modernize outdated rules that may no longer align with current technologies or market conditions. It promotes competition and innovation in energy generation, ensuring that Texans get the most cost-effective and reliable solutions. By reducing rigid regulatory mandates, it allows local utilities and producers to craft compensation models that best fit their needs.

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Reminder: Vote Notices are provided to both Texas state lawmakers and the general public, sharing Texans for Fiscal Responsibility’s position on issues eligible to be rated as a part of the Fiscal Responsibility Index. Notices are provided prior to votes being taken in each legislative chamber.

Disclaimer: We reserve the right to consider amendments to legislation that may be introduced without notice as a part of issues to be rated on the Fiscal Responsibility Index. We will make every effort to provide notice on amendments that are pre-filed.