Let your license lapse? You get longer to renew it.
The bill lengthens the grace period for renewing an expired occupational license or registration issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. A license expired up to 90 days can be renewed for up to 1.5 times the normal fee, one expired 90 days to a year can be renewed for up to twice the fee, and only after a year must the holder start over with the exam. Today the cutoff is 30 days, so licensed workers such as those under the Water Code licensing chapter get more time before losing their license.
Labels
Labels: CROSS-PARTY HANDOFF. Lead author Ryan Guillen (R) in the House. Lead sponsor Judith Zaffirini (D) in the Senate. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.
relating to the renewal by the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality of certain expired occupational licenses and
registrations.
WHAT IT DOES
Let your license lapse? You get longer to renew it.
The bill lengthens the grace period for renewing an expired occupational license or registration issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. A license expired up to 90 days can be renewed for up to 1.5 times the normal fee, one expired 90 days to a year can be renewed for up to twice the fee, and only after a year must the holder start over with the exam. Today the cutoff is 30 days, so licensed workers such as those under the Water Code licensing chapter get more time before losing their license.
CHARGES
[ ] NONE FOUND
TOTAL
No first-year general revenue figure available here.
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined because the number of individuals who would renew their licenses or registrations under the extended renewal periods is unknown at this time. The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.
Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
HISTORY
Filed
Read first time
Referred to Environmental Regulation
Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
Considered in public hearing
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
Left pending in committee
Considered in formal meeting
Recommended to be sent to Local & Consent
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
Committee report distributed
Comm. report sent to Local & Consent Calendar
Considered in Local & Consent Calendars
Placed on Local, Consent, and Res. Calendar
Read 2nd time
Passed to engrossment
Nonrecord vote recorded in Journal
Read 3rd time
Passed
Record vote RV#1573
Nonrecord vote recorded in Journal
Reported engrossed
Received from the House
Read first time
Referred to Natural Resources
Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
Considered in public hearing
Left pending in committee
Posting rule suspended
Considered in public hearing
Vote taken in committee
Reported favorably as substituted
Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
Committee report printed and distributed
Placed on local & uncontested calendar
Laid before the Senate
Read 2nd time & passed to 3rd reading
Vote recorded in Journal
Three day rule suspended
Record vote
Read 3rd time
Passed
Record vote
Senate passage as amended reported
Senate Amendments distributed
Senate Amendments Analysis distributed
House concurs in Senate amendment(s)
Record vote RV#3965
Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
Text of Senate Amendment(s)
House concurs in Senate amendment(s)-reported
Reported enrolled
Signed in the House
Signed in the Senate
Sent to the Governor
Signed by the Governor
Effective on 9/1/25
FILED UNDER
No verified beat found.
SIGNED FOR BY
House · 139 yea · 9 nay
Senate · 31 yea · 0 nay
Sources
House: Final passage · May 7, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Senate: Final passage · May 25, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Representative Guillen moved to concur in the senate amendments to HB 1237. The motion to concur in the senate amendments to HB 1237 prevailed by (Record 3965): 98 Yeas, 35 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 98 (published)
Nay: 35 (published)
Present, not voting: 2 (published)
Absent: 6 (derived from named list)
Excused: 9 (derived from named list)
House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.
The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to third reading, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records final passage. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.
Sources
CSHB 1237 (Zaffirini) Relating to the renewal by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality of certain expired occupational licenses and registrations. (viva voce vote) (31-0) (31-0)
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 31 (published)
Nay: 0 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: Not printed
Excused: Not printed
Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.
The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to third reading, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records suspension of the three-day rule. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.
Sources
CSHB 1237 (Zaffirini) Relating to the renewal by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality of certain expired occupational licenses and registrations. (viva voce vote) (31-0) (31-0)
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 31 (published)
Nay: 0 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: Not printed
Excused: Not printed
Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.
The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to third reading, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records passage to third reading. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.
Voice vote. No numeric tally or individual yeas are inferred.
Sources
CSHB 1237 (Zaffirini) Relating to the renewal by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality of certain expired occupational licenses and registrations. (viva voce vote) (31-0) (31-0)
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: Not printed
Nay: Not printed
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: Not printed
Excused: Not printed
Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
HB 1237 (Bonnen, Buckley, Cain, Capriglione, Cunningham, Fairly, Harris, Patterson, and Vasut - no) (139 - 9 - 2) (Virdell requested to be recorded voting no after the deadline established by Rule 5, Section 52, of the House Rules.)
Shared roll motion
The following bills which were considered on second reading on the previous legislative day on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar were laid before the house, read third time, and passed by the following record vote (members registering votes and the results of the vote are shown following the bill number). (Record 1573): 148 Yeas, 0 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 139 (published)
Nay: 9 (published)
Present, not voting: 2 (published)
Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
Excused: 0 (derived from named list)
House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Witnesses9
For
7
Against
0
On
2
Names
For
City of Houston1 registration
Texas Association of Water Companies1 registration
Texas Food & Fuel Association1 registration
Texas Rural Water Association2 registrations
Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT)1 registration
Water Environment of Texas Association (WEAT)1 registration
On
TCEQ1 registration
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality1 registration
Sources
9 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.
Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined because the number of individuals who would renew their licenses or registrations under the extended renewal periods is unknown at this time. The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.
Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
How this was graded
Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.
89R3352 ANG-D
By: Guillen
H.B. No. 1237
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the renewal by the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality of certain expired occupational licenses and
registrations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 37.006, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (f) and (g) and adding Subsection (h) to read
as follows:
(f) A person whose license or registration has been expired
for not more than 90 [ 30 ] days [ or less ] may apply for renewal of the
license or registration by paying to the commission a renewal fee in
an amount prescribed by commission rule not to exceed 1-1/2 times
the normally required renewal fee.
(g) A person whose license or registration has been expired
for at least 90 days but not more than one year may apply for renewal
of the license or registration by paying to the commission a renewal
fee in an amount prescribed by commission rule not to exceed two
times the normally required renewal fee.
(h) A person whose license or registration has been expired
for at least one year [ more than 30 days ] may not renew the license
or registration. The person may obtain a new license or
registration by complying with the requirements and procedures,
including the examination requirements, for obtaining an original
license or registration.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
Monitoring 