2025 State Legislation Thread

[Shane Saum]

Dear Council,

As discussed at yesterday's City Council Meeting, this is the thread for us to discuss legislation that was passed by the Legislature this year that we think should be addressed either in our ordinances or in our procedures. Please list the bills and a short description of what the bill does and what you think we need to do to be compliant or to take advantage of any new laws. Remember last night's list was mostly just bills that were effective immediately. Here is TML's list of bills passed that impact cities during the 89th session: https://www.tml.org/1050/June-12-2025-Number-23#City_Bills

You can also use Texas Legislature Online to search these bills and review them for yourself. I suggest going to this page and in the top right corner, input the bill number (ex. SB 7) with the 89R selected. Then go to the Text tab and you can read the bill or the bill analysis. Read the last document at the bottom for the enrolled version. https://capitol.texas.gov/Search/BillSearch.aspx. There is a special session going on now (and possibly a couple to come), so we may see a few more bills that impact us.

We can then decide who, when and how we want to work on these changes.

 

[Paul Roberts]

Council,

Here is the working list of code, policy, and template updates that came out of our 7/24 discussion and Brad’s initial memo. Brad will confirm each item’s legal details so we can prepare the right ordinance language or policy change.

#	Action	Topic	Statutory Reference	Notes
1	Ordinance	Home‑Based Businesses	HB 2464	Bring local code into compliance. *Already pending with P&Z (recommendation required).
2	Ordinance	Consolidate Municipal Court Security & Technology Funds	HB 1950	Merge dedicated funds under the new statute.
3	Ordinance	Amend § 3.113 to recognize Certificate‑of‑Occupancy “acknowledgment” documents	HB 4753	Update accepted CO documentation.
4	Resolution + Contract Addendum	Severance‑pay cap and posting requirement	HB 762 / SB 1494	Adopt now; effective Sept 1 2025. *Tiffany / HR is working on this.
5	Policy Memo	PIA confidentiality categories and cyber‑incident reporting clause	HB 132 / HB 5331	Incorporate into internal procedures.
6	Policy Memo	Annexation across railroad right‑of‑way	SB 250	Outline process and legal rationale.
7	Policy Memo	Agricultural‑operations enforcement safe harbor	SB 1035	Define enforcement limits. *Ch 14? If yes, P&Z recommendation required.
8	(Optional) Ordinance + IT Project	Electronic zoning‑notice portal	HB 4506	Requires software procurement. *I think consensus is “No” to this.
9	Election‑order template update	Mandatory “THIS IS A TAX INCREASE.” statement	SB 2786	Revise template language.
10	Personnel‑handbook update	First responder disease‑presumption window	HB 331	Align with new presumptions. *Tiffany / HR is working on this.

Please review and advise:

• Any corrections or additions—especially bills that take effect later this year or after the special sessions, pursuant to Shane’s post.
• Whether any other legislation should move into this first batch.

Once Brad’s review is in, we can queue these items on an upcoming agenda and finish the ordinances, policies, and template changes quickly.

Thanks,

Paul

 

[Shane Saum]

Here are some other bills I mentioned at the last council meeting for us to consider getting ahead of and drafting ordinances or updating policies for:

• SB 710 Allows for Committee Discussion Boards for committees like P&Z, BoA etc.
• SB 1173 - raises the local government competitive procurement thresholds from $50,000 to $100,000. Therefore, local governments will have more flexibility to pay for goods and services that are below $100,000. Sept 1.
• HB 2844 - preempts a city, county, or public health district from requiring certain small-scale food businesses or their employees to obtain a permit or pay a permitting fee to operate a food service establishment, temporary food service establishment, retail food establishment, temporary retail food establishment, or retail food store if the business: (a) holds a permit issued by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) for that purpose; or (b) is licensed as a food manufacturer;
• preempt a city’s authority to prohibit or regulate mobile food vending in a manner that conflicts with state law; (The provisions described in Number 4, above, are effective September 1, 2025; the remaining provisions are effective July 1, 2026.)
• SB 7 - Water Funding, a dedicated funding source, will be on the ballot. Texas Water Fund to be voted on and the New Water Supply Fund They did allow for more funds for funding existing infrastructure.
• SB 2965 - prohibiting disannexation if the municipality cannot meet or exceed the services currently being provided in the district.
• Not effective until later: S.B. 1106 (Parker/Harris) – Public Improvement Districts: requires a city to: (1) post a copy of a public improvement district (PID) service plan and certain other information on the city’s website within seven days of approving, amending, or updating the plan; (2) submit an assessment roll for each city PID to each appraisal district in which property subject to assessment is located within seven days of levying the assessment; and (3) post on its website certain information about city PIDs. (Effective January 1, 2026.)

 

[Paul Roberts]

Council,

Preface / Update: HR (Tiffany) confirmed she is handling specific Personnel Handbook items internally, and Shane added several bills we should get ahead of. The tables below adjust owners, effective dates, and which items belong on a Council agenda versus those staff can complete administratively. This does not reopen prior consensus; it clarifies scope and timing.

Owner / Status Grid

#	Item	Owner (Lead)	Support	Action Type	Statute	Target Meeting / Deadline	Status	Notes / Dependencies
1	Home Based Businesses ordinance	Legal / Planning	P&Z	Ordinance	HB 2464	First available meeting after P&Z	In progress	P&Z recommendation pending; bring code into compliance.
2	Consolidate Municipal Court Security & Technology Funds	Finance / Municipal Court	Legal	Ordinance	HB 1950	Next available meeting	Drafting	Verify chart of accounts; plan balance transfer memo.
3	§ 3.113 CO “acknowledgment” documents	Building / Legal	Clerk	Ordinance	HB 4753	Next available meeting	Drafting	Update accepted documents and posting equivalency.
4	Severance policy and contract addenda	Council / Legal	HR	Resolution + Contract Addenda	HB 762 / SB 1494	Adopt by Sept 1, 2025	Decision needed	HR handling handbook updates; Council still must adopt policy and update any contracts with severance.
5	PIA confidentiality and cyber incident clause	Clerk / Legal	IT / Purchasing	Policy memos + template updates	HB 132 / HB 5331	Within 30 days	In progress	Update PIA SOP; add vendor contract language stating DIR notice duties are not limited by contract.
6	Annexation across railroad right of way SOP	Legal / Planning	Clerk	Policy memo / SOP	SB 250	Next available meeting (receive and file)	To draft	Clarify voluntary annexation across contiguous railroad ROW without annexing the ROW.
7	Agricultural operations enforcement safe harbor	Legal / Code Enforcement	Planning	Policy memo / Code placement	SB 1035	Next available meeting	To draft	Place in nuisance/code enforcement chapter, not Chapter 14; avoids P&Z referral unless Council directs zoning placement.
8	Committee and board discussion boards (P&Z, BOA, etc.)	Council / Clerk	IT / Legal	Resolution (optional)	SB 710	Effective Sept 1, 2025	Policy choice	If approved, configure message board with one‑click access and archiving; designate staff monitor.
9	Purchasing threshold to $100,000	Finance / Purchasing	Legal	Ordinance / Policy update	SB 1173	Effective Sept 1, 2025	Review underway	Replace $50,000 references; align forms and training; confirm informal quote ranges.
10	Election order template language (“THIS IS A TAX INCREASE.”)	Clerk / Legal	Finance	Template update	SB 2786	Before next tax or bond election	In progress	Update resolution and ballot templates now.
11	First responder disease presumption	HR (Tiffany)	Legal	Handbook update	HB 331	Sept 1, 2025	In progress	HR‑led; no Council agenda needed per HR.
12	Code enforcement officer in training	HR (Tiffany)	Code Enforcement	Handbook / SOP	SB 1376	Sept 1, 2025	In progress	HR‑led; documents that an officer in training may operate unsupervised if no registered officer employed.
13	Severance (employee handbook portions)	HR (Tiffany)	Legal	Handbook update	HB 762 / SB 1494	Sept 1, 2025	In progress	Complements Council policy and contract updates (Item 4).
14	Texas Water Fund / New Water Supply Fund	Utilities / Engineering	Finance / Legal	Funding readiness	SB 7	Rolling; monitor TWDB rulemaking	Ongoing	Package shovel‑ready projects; bring items when programs/funds open.
15	PID transparency postings and assessment rolls	Clerk / Finance	Legal / IT	SOP + Website process	SB 1106	Go‑live Jan 1, 2026	Planning	Post PID service plans within 7 days; submit assessment rolls to appraisal district within 7 days.
16	Small scale food businesses and mobile vending	Legal / Code / Health	Clerk / Finance	Ordinance overhaul	HB 2844	Phase 1: Sept 1, 2025; Phase 2: July 1, 2026	Audit started	Align with DSHS framework; preemption limits local permits/fees; stage changes to meet both effective dates.

 

[Norma Owen]

Thank you, Councilor Roberts, Councilor Saum, and HR Director Tiffany Sparks, for your diligent work in organizing this comprehensive and actionable response to the recent legislative changes. The clarity of the ownership table and the foresight to distinguish between Council-led items and administrative actions will allow us to stay ahead of the curve and maintain compliance while minimizing disruption. I especially appreciate the collaborative approach across departments and the early coordination with Legal, HR, and Planning to anticipate implementation timelines.