Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has issued the following vote notice for March 25th, 2025 

Texas House of Representatives

None

Texas Senate

Subject:  Senate Bill 413 (SB 413) – School Board Transparency

• Author: State Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston)
• Caption: Relating to the meetings of the boards of trustees of independent school districts.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 413 enhances government transparency by requiring school boards to publicly disclose meeting minutes, individual member votes, and adopted resolutions online within a week. It mandates recordings of all meetings, giving taxpayers direct access to how decisions affecting public education and budgets are made. By streamlining access to this information, the bill reduces reliance on public information requests, saving time and resources for both citizens and local governments. This transparency helps taxpayers hold elected officials accountable. For these reasons, TFR supports SB 413.

Subject:  Senate Bill 472 (SB 472) – Ends appraisal district overreach

• Author: State Sen. Kevin Sparks (R-Midland)
• Caption: Relating to the right of the chief appraiser of an appraisal district, the appraisal district, or the appraisal review board of the appraisal district to bring certain claims in an appeal of an order of the appraisal review board.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 472 protects Texas taxpayers by eliminating the authority of chief appraisers to sue property owners in a counter claim when protesting their appraised property values. By repealing Section 42.02 of the Tax Code, the bill curbs bureaucratic overreach, reinforces property rights, prevents misuse of taxpayer-funded legal resources and restores accountability in the appraisal process. It ensures that local governments cannot weaponize the tax system against residents, supporting a more fair, limited, and transparent government. For these reasons, TFR supports SB 472.

Subject:  Senate Bill 686 (SB 686) – Public School Transfer Freedom

• Author: State Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney)
• Caption: Relating to the transfer of students between public schools.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 686 promotes school choice by allowing Texas families to transfer their children to any public school with available capacity, regardless of district boundaries. It prohibits burdensome tuition fees for these transfers, ensuring tax-funded public education is accessible without double-charging parents. This bill encourages competition between schools, incentivizing academic improvement and operational efficiency. For these reasons, TFR supports SB 686.

Subject:  Senate Bill 710 (SB 710) – Modernizes Local Communications

• Author: State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin)
• Caption: Relating to the establishment and use of a written electronic communications system accessible to the public by certain municipal entities.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 710 increases transparency and efficiency in municipal zoning commissions by authorizing them to use online message boards for public communication, similar to existing tools used by city councils. By modernizing communication channels, this bill can help save time and taxpayer resources. It enhances public access and accountability without expanding government bureaucracy or spending. For these reasons, TFR supports SB 710.

Subject:  Senate Bill 810 (SB 810) – Limits compelled gender language

• Author: State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola)
• Caption: Relating to protection for a public school employee’s use of terms consistent with biological sex.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 810 protects public school employees from punishment for referring to students or coworkers using terms aligned with biological sex. The bill affirms free speech and conscience protections in the classroom, allowing educators to focus on academic instruction without being forced to navigate the newest social experiment or speech police. The bill upholds individual liberty and limits government overreach into workplace speech. For these reasons TFR supports SB 810.

Subject:  Senate Bill 815 (SB 815) – Banning AI in Healthcare Claims

• Author: State Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown)
• Caption: Relating to the use of certain automated systems or personnel in, and certain adverse determinations made in connection with, the health benefit claims process.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT / AMEND
• Background: 
  • SB 815 seeks to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in health insurance claims processes by prohibiting AI from making or assisting with medical claims determinations. Instead, such decisions must come from licensed healthcare professionals. It mandates transparency from insurers about the use of AI. However, there are concerns about unduly hampering AI use and innovation. To improve the bill, lawmakers should clarify that the bill does not prohibit the use of AI in other functions, such as fraud and administration. The bill should be narrowly tailored to only adverse determinations by utilization review agents, and should limit regulatory burdens on AI use.

Subject:  Senate Bill 896 (SB 896) – Extended newborn insurance enrollment period

• Author: State Sen. César Blanco (D-El Paso)
• Caption: Relating to the enrollment period for newborns under certain health benefit plans.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 896 provides a common-sense update to Texas health insurance regulations by extending the newborn enrollment period from 31 to 60 days. This helps avoid costly lapses in coverage due to bureaucratic delays during a time when families are often overwhelmed. The bill ensures parental choice and stability, supports families, and does so without imposing new mandates or costs on the state. For these reasons, TFR supports SB 896.

Subject:  Senate Bill 916 (SB 916) – Extends EMS billing protections

• Author: State Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo)
• Caption: Relating to consumer protections against certain medical and health care billing by emergency medical services providers.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 916 extends protections against surprise medical billing by municipal ambulance services through 2027 and limits how much local governments can increase EMS charges annually. It ensures cost transparency and caps price hikes to reflect inflation, not bureaucratic expansion or unchecked spending. The bill holds providers accountable by allowing the state to penalize intentional over-billing and regulatory abuse. SB 916 curbs local government overreach, promotes price stability, and shields taxpayers and patients from unfair billing.

Subject:  Senate Bill 961 (SB 961) – Strengthens Medicaid fraud prevention

• Author: State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham)
• Caption: Relating to fraud prevention and verifying eligibility for benefits under Medicaid.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 961 enhances the integrity of Texas’ Medicaid system by mandating robust verification of eligibility and cracking down on fraudulent billing practices. It eliminates loopholes that allow individuals to self-report key information like income or residency without proper documentation, thereby ensuring only qualified individuals receive taxpayer-funded benefits. The bill also requires that only the licensed provider who actually performed a service can be listed on reimbursement claims, reducing provider-level fraud. This legislation helps to protect taxpayer dollars and reduce government waste. For these reasons, TFR supports SB 961.

Subject:  Senate Bill 1252 (SB 1252) – Cuts residential energy regulation

• Author: State Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown)
• Caption: Relating to the authority of a municipality to regulate the installation or inspection of a residential energy backup system.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 1252 eliminates burdensome local regulations on residential energy backup systems, ensuring a uniform and streamlined permitting process across Texas. By preventing municipalities from imposing redundant or costly permitting requirements, the bill reduces regulatory overhead and encourages energy independence for homeowners. This deregulation fosters innovation, lowers costs for consumers, and minimizes government interference in private property decisions.

Subject:  Senate Bill 1547 (SB 1547) – Restores Fair Record Charges

• Author: State Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo)
• Caption: Relating to fees charged by county clerks for certain property records.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 1547 corrects an overreach in a previous law that allowed county clerks to charge excessive fees for electronic copies of real property records. By eliminating the $0.10 per-page charge and aligning fees with the actual cost of production, the bill restores transparency and ensures compliance with existing public records laws.

Subject:  Senate Bill 1596 (SB 1596) – Repeal Ban on Short-barrel firearms

• Author: State Sen. Brent Hagenbuch (R-Denton)
• Caption: Relating to the prohibition of short-barrel firearms.
• TFR Position: SUPPORT
• Background: 
  • SB 1596 repeals the state prohibition on short-barrel firearms. The bill reinforces the Second Amendment and private property rights without expanding state enforcement powers. By repealing outdated restrictions, the bill streamlines law enforcement priorities and safeguards individual liberties. For these reasons, TFR supports SB 1596.

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.