Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has issued the following vote notice for April 10th, 2025

Texas House of Representatives

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Subject: Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) – General Appropriations Act

• Author: State Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), Sponsor: Rep. Greg Bonnen (R-Friendswood)
• Caption: General Appropriations Bill
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • CSSB 1 represents a dramatic and fiscally irresponsible expansion of the Texas state budget that should be rejected by conservatives. State fund appropriations increase by 8.2% from the last biennium and a staggering 42.8% since 2022–23—far above the benchmark of population growth plus inflation. Even with a historic $24 billion surplus, only $6 billion is allocated for property tax relief, leaving most of the surplus to grow government instead of reducing the tax burden.
  • The budget increases spending across nearly every category without enacting structural reforms or addressing inefficiencies. Education spending soars without delivering universal school choice or accountability, while billions are funneled into corporate welfare schemes like film subsidies and energy handouts. This spending locks in new baselines, making future reductions more difficult and setting taxpayers up for long-term liabilities. SB 1 reflects centralized economic planning over free-market principles and does little to eliminate burdensome school property taxes. The budget fails to align with conservative goals of limited government and fiscal discipline. TFR opposes SB 1 and demands a smaller, leaner, more taxpayer-focused state government.

Subject: Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) – General Appropriations Act – Specific Amendments

• Author: State Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), Sponsor: Rep. Greg Bonnen (R-Friendswood)
• Caption: General Appropriations Bill
• TFR Position: OPPOSE specific amendments / SUPPORT specific amendments
• Background: 
  • To see a list of pre-filed amendments that TFR supports or opposes, click HERE.

Subject: House Bill 500 (HB 500) – Supplemental Appropriations

• Author: State Rep. Greg Bonnen (R-Friendswood)
• Caption: Relating to making supplemental appropriations and reductions in appropriations and giving direction and adjustment authority regarding appropriations.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • HB 500 exemplifies fiscal irresponsibility by using supplemental appropriations as a backdoor to inflate state spending without accountability. It adds $13.7 billion in general revenue and nearly $12 billion in total funds, despite declining federal support in some areas. Much of this funding goes to ongoing programs, politically driven handouts, and deferred maintenance—not true emergencies. By treating temporary surplus funds as a slush fund, HB 500 sets the stage for new recurring expenses that will burden future budgets and crowd out tax relief. It also acts as a shell game to increase the base-year budget, expanding the spending cap for the next session. Instead of directing surplus dollars toward compressing and eliminating school M&O property taxes, HB 500 prioritizes pet projects and interest group giveaways. It deepens government bloat, undermines trust in budget transparency, and rewards lobbyist-driven politics over taxpayers. Fiscal conservatives should view this bill as a clear violation of prudent budgeting and oppose it outright. Taxpayers deserve relief—not more permanent spending disguised as one-time appropriations.

Subject: House Bill 500 (HB 500) – Supplemental Appropriations – Specific Amendments

• Author: State Rep. Greg Bonnen (R-Friendswood)
• Caption: Relating to making supplemental appropriations and reductions in appropriations and giving direction and adjustment authority regarding appropriations.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE specific amendments / SUPPORT specific amendments
• Background: 
  • To see a list of pre-filed amendments that TFR supports or opposes, click HERE.

Texas Senate

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Subject: Senate Bill 618 (SB 618) – Election procedure enforcement

• Author: State Sen. Kevin Sparks (R-Midland)
• Caption: Relating to the unlawful altering of election procedures; providing a civil penalty.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 618 ensures that Texas election officials follow the law exactly as written and are held accountable if they don’t. It prevents local or state election officials from changing voting rules on their own unless the law specifically allows it. If an official breaks these rules and refuses to correct the violation, they can be fined thousands of dollars per day until they comply. This bill empowers the Secretary of State to investigate violations and the Attorney General to enforce penalties. It also allows any Texan to file a complaint—even against the Secretary of State—and sue if violations go unresolved. The bill helps limit government overreach by enforcing rule of law, prevents rogue election changes that could lead to costly legal battles, and strengthens transparency and accountability while keeping election integrity intact.

Subject: Senate Bill 619 (SB 619) – Healthcare Conscience Protections

• Author: State Sen. Kevin Sparks (R-Midland)
• Caption: Relating to protection of persons from participation in a health care service for reasons of conscience; providing a civil remedy; authorizing disciplinary action.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 619 defends the rights of healthcare workers in Texas to opt out of procedures that violate their deeply held religious beliefs, such as certain surgeries or prescriptions, while still preserving access to patient care. It shields these professionals from losing their jobs or licenses for acting according to their conscience, so long as the service isn’t emergency or life-sustaining in nature. It encourages healthcare institutions to respect individual liberty while maintaining practical protocols to help patients receive care. For taxpayers, it reduces the risk of costly litigation by clearly defining legal protections and responsibilities. This promotes a free and diverse healthcare workforce without expanding bureaucracy. The bill keeps government and employers in check, and protects 1st amendment rights.

Subject: Senate Bill 1080 (SB 1080) – License reform for ex-offenders

• Author: State Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas)
• Caption: Relating to the revocation of an occupational license from certain license holders and the issuance of a provisional occupational license to certain applicants with criminal convictions.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 1080 empowers licensing agencies to evaluate felony convictions on a case-by-case basis, instead of automatically revoking a professional license. It also enables incarcerated individuals or those on supervised release to earn provisional licenses if they complete certain educational programs. This bill promotes rehabilitation and workforce reintegration, helping former inmates become self-sufficient taxpayers rather than dependents on welfare programs. By expanding access to employment, the bill could help reduce recidivism and lower the long-term costs of incarceration and public assistance. It also respects limited government principles by eliminating one-size-fits-all mandates. The bill supports a productive, self-reliant society while safeguarding public safety through case-specific review. For these reasons, TFR supports SB 1080.

Subject: Senate Bill 1541 (SB 1541) – Election integrity oversight

• Author: State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston)
• Caption: Relating to state oversight of county elections following a county election audit.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 1541 lets the state step in when county election systems show repeated failures after an audit, especially in Texas’ largest counties. It empowers the Secretary of State to monitor election offices, help them fix problems, and if they don’t improve, take over operations temporarily. This ensures elections are fair, accurate, and trustworthy without waiting for another failure to happen. The bill also allows firing election officials who repeatedly fail in their duties. It protects taxpayers by preventing costly and chaotic elections, while defending citizens’ right to vote with confidence.

Subject: Senate Bill 1567 (SB 1567) – Stops arbitrary occupancy restrictions

• Author: State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston)
• Caption: Relating to the authority of home-rule municipalities to regulate the occupancy of dwelling units.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT / AMEND
• Background: 
  • SB 1567 helps to protect property rights by stopping cities from using intrusive occupancy limits that control who can live together in a home. It ensures that private property owners near universities can rent or share homes without interference based on relationships. By setting clear and fair occupancy limits based only on room size, the bill removes arbitrary rules. It also bars local governments from spying on lease agreements, protecting both privacy and due process. The bill empowers property owners to hold cities accountable if their rights are violated, waiving government immunity and allowing for recovery of damages and attorney’s fees. However, the bill is circumscribed to only cities with a public institution of higher education. The bill should be expanded to include all municipalities.

Subject: Senate Bill 1750 (SB 1750) – Charter School Subsidy Increase

• Author: State Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney)
• Caption: Relating to instructional facilities funding for certain open-enrollment charter schools.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • [UPDATED] SB 1750 helps to ensure better treatment for open-enrollment charter schools by removing the outdated $60 million cap on facilities funding and replacing it with a formula-based allotment. Unlike ISDs, charter schools cannot levy property taxes, leaving them at a structural disadvantage despite serving over 420,000 students, with growing demand. This bill corrects that imbalance without expanding bureaucracy and limits funds strictly to facilities-related uses, including school safety and instructional technology. It includes strong safeguards by prohibiting self-dealing in real estate transactions, ensuring accountability with taxpayer dollars. Charter schools are a successful model, with many consistently outperforming traditional public schools in Texas. State data and research from organizations like CREDO at Stanford University show that Texas charter school students generally make greater academic gains in reading and math compared to their traditional public school peers. The bill helps to promote competition and school choice without creating new entitlement programs or agencies. While Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) remain the gold standard for empowering parents, SB 1750 complements that goal by strengthening the infrastructure of public charter schools that many families already choose. This is a targeted investment that supports choice, parental rights, transparency, and more efficiency in Texas education.

Subject: Senate Bill 1791 (SB 1791) – Unresponsive Insurance Claims

• Author: State Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston)
• Caption: Relating to the effects of unresponsive insureds for a personal automobile insurance policy.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • [UPDATED] SB 1791 addresses a gap in Texas insurance law that unfairly burdens innocent third parties involved in auto accidents. Under current law, if an at-fault driver refuses to respond to their insurer, the only consequence is that their policy is not renewed — meanwhile, the injured party’s claim is denied outright. This forces the victim to either pay for the damage themselves, file on their own insurance and face premium hikes, or sue the at-fault driver with no guarantee of recovering legal costs. SB 1791 establishes a clear, reasonable standard: insurers must attempt to contact their policyholder at least five times over 45 days. If the insured remains unresponsive, the insurer must pay the third-party claim and non-renew the policy. This bill strengthens accountability for uncooperative drivers, ensures timely resolution for innocent parties, and prevents cost-shifting onto responsible Texans.

Subject: Senate Bill 1851 (SB 1851) – Financial transparency for Cities

• Author: State Sen. Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville)
• Caption: Relating to the penalty for noncompliance with certain audit requirements by a municipality.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 1851 ensures that cities in Texas stay accountable by tying financial transparency to their ability to raise property taxes. If a city fails to conduct a required financial audit or doesn’t file its audit report on time, it would be barred from raising property taxes above the no-new-revenue rate until it fixes the issue. This helps keep local governments transparent and discourages fiscal mismanagement. For taxpayers, it’s a win—it stops cities from increasing taxes while hiding how they’ve spent public money.

Subject: Senate Bill 2321 (SB 2321) – Grid emergency emissions waiver

• Author: State Sen. Phil King (R-Weatherford)
• Caption: Relating to the regulation of emissions by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality during an event affecting electric demand or grid reliability.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 2321 ensures that power producers and large facilities with backup generators won’t face regulatory punishment for emissions during energy emergencies—when the state’s electric grid is under serious strain. By codifying this waiver process, the bill gives businesses certainty and encourages them to keep the lights on without fear of fines. It removes red tape at the worst possible moment—during a grid emergency—when every megawatt counts. From a taxpayer perspective, this helps prevent costly blackouts that burden families and businesses. It also supports grid reliability without expanding bureaucracy or increasing state spending. 

Subject: Senate Bill 2365 (SB 2365) – Student phone ban

• Author: State Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe)
• Caption: Relating to a policy prohibiting the use of personal wireless communication devices by public school students during instructional time.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • SB 2365 mandates that every public school and charter school in Texas adopt a policy that bans students from using personal devices like smartphones during class. While it allows limited exceptions for medical or special education needs, it represents another layer of top-down mandates from the state. This bill adds bureaucracy and regulation, and imposes a one-size-fits-all approach, stripping flexibility from local school districts and parents to decide what works best in their communities and for their children.

Subject: Senate Bill 2425 (SB 2425) – Self-driving vehicles

• Author: State Sen. Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville)
• Caption: Relating to the regulation of automated motor vehicles; creating a criminal offense.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 2425 sets clear statewide rules for operating self-driving or autonomous vehicles (AVs) in Texas. It requires companies to get state approval before putting AVs on the road, especially if they’re used to transport people or goods for profit. The bill ensures these vehicles meet safety standards and file emergency response plans to protect first responders and the public. It bars local governments from creating their own conflicting regulations, promoting regulatory consistency and reducing bureaucratic overreach. By setting a single set of rules, Texas encourages private sector innovation while avoiding a costly regulatory patchwork. This bill supports free-market solutions, limits unnecessary government interference, and protects taxpayers by ensuring unsafe or non-compliant vehicles are kept off the road. 

Subject: Senate Bill 291 (SB 291) – Eminent domain transparency

• Author: State Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown)
• Caption: Relating to the failure to disclose certain appraisal reports by an entity with eminent domain authority in connection with an offer to acquire real property.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 291 ensures that when a government entity or similar authority tries to take private property for public use, the landowner must be given all relevant appraisal reports from the past 10 years. If the government fails to hand over these documents, they are on the hook for the landowner’s legal costs needed to access them. This measure strengthens property rights and introduces accountability where previously there was none. By enforcing transparency, it prevents government overreach and ensures taxpayers aren’t left fighting blindfolded. It discourages misuse of power and encourages fair market offers instead of lowball tactics. Fiscally, this saves both time and public money by reducing litigation and boosting early cooperation.

Subject: Senate Bill 292 (SB 292) – Stronger Landowner Rights Disclosure

• Author: State Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown)
• Caption: Relating to certain requirements in connection with the acquisition of real property for public use by an entity with eminent domain authority.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 292 strengthens property rights by requiring clearer disclosures and fairer processes when government or private entities use eminent domain. It ensures landowners are fully informed of their rights from the very start of negotiations, including their ability to refuse or negotiate property access for surveys. The bill mandates transparency by separating voluntary land purchases from forced acquisitions, reducing the risk of government overreach. It also holds condemning entities financially responsible for any damages caused during surveys. These changes protect taxpayers from misuse of public authority and help guard against unnecessary government intrusion on private land.

Subject: Senate Bill 305 (SB 305) – Broadens “move over” mandate

• Author: State Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock)
• Caption: Relating to the criminal offense of passing certain vehicles on a highway.
• TFR Position: OPPOSE
• Background: 
  • SB 305 expands the state’s “move over or slow down” law to include animal control officers and parking enforcement employees working roadside with appropriate visual signals. While the bill is intended to enhance worker safety, it also creates broader enforcement requirements that place new burdens on Texas drivers. From a fiscally conservative and limited government standpoint, this is a regulatory expansion that increases government protections for additional categories of employees—many of whom are not engaged in emergency response. The continual inclusion of new public workers into this statute risks mission creep and could eventually dilute the seriousness of the original law. Additionally, requiring drivers to abruptly slow down or change lanes more frequently—especially in high-traffic or urban areas—raises the likelihood of lane-change accidents, sudden braking, traffic bottlenecks, and congestion. These changes could unintentionally create new safety risks for both drivers and the very workers the bill seeks to protect. For these reasons, TFR opposes SB 305.

Subject: Senate Bill 1023 (SB 1023) – Local tax rate transparency

• Author: State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston)
• Caption: Relating to the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 1023 increases transparency and accountability in local property tax rate calculations by requiring that each figure reported on tax forms be backed up with a linked document proving its accuracy. This change makes it easier for taxpayers to verify how local governments arrive at their tax rates, deterring manipulation or errors. It also mandates that these forms be digital and streamlined for compatibility with appraisal district databases, reducing inefficiency and paperwork. Additionally, the bill ensures that property values and tax impacts from special reinvestment zones are calculated separately, preventing vague or misleading aggregation. This bill supports taxpayer oversight, reduces government opacity, and strengthens local accountability.

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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 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.