Monitoring the Session

HB 1489

bill barring government workers from handing out unrequested voter forms

Did not pass

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Tom OliversonRHouse 130

Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to prohibiting an officer or employee of this state or of a political subdivision of this state from distributing certain voter registration application forms.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Parties and candidates can still hand them out.

The bill bars state and local government officers and employees from handing out voter registration forms to people who did not ask for one, and bars them from using public money to help someone else do it. It touches state agencies, counties, cities and other local government workers, while leaving political parties and candidates free to distribute unrequested forms. Starting September 1, 2025, government offices could give registration forms only on request or through the existing exceptions the bill points to.

Labels

Labels: STALLED AFTER COMMITTEE. Voted out of the House Elections committee 5-3 on Apr 14, 2025. Placed on the General State Calendar on May 13, 2025. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB1489 · 2024-12-02

SOLD BY

Rep. Tom OliversonRHouse 130 Rep. John LujanRHouse 118 Rep. Carrie IsaacRHouse 73

+ 2 more authors

ITEM

relating to prohibiting an officer or employee of this state or of a political subdivision of this state from distributing certain voter registration application forms.

WHAT IT DOES

Parties and candidates can still hand them out.

The bill bars state and local government officers and employees from handing out voter registration forms to people who did not ask for one, and bars them from using public money to help someone else do it. It touches state agencies, counties, cities and other local government workers, while leaving political parties and candidates free to distribute unrequested forms. Starting September 1, 2025, government offices could give registration forms only on request or through the existing exceptions the bill points to.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · April 14, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

HISTORY

  1. Filed
  2. Read first time
  3. Referred to Elections
  4. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  5. Considered in public hearing
  6. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
  7. Left pending in committee
  8. Considered in formal meeting
  9. Committee substitute considered in committee
  10. Reported favorably as substituted
  11. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  12. Committee report distributed
  13. Committee report sent to Calendars
  14. Considered in Calendars
  15. Placed on General State Calendar
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Tom Oliverson

Donors

Donors report through Friends of Tom Oliverson.

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

Derived itemized flow · Oct 27, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

Votes

No floor vote loaded for this bill.

Witnesses26
For
10
Against
15
On
1
Names

For

  • Self7 registrations
  • Self; Election Integrity Committee and Secure Texas Elections Subcommitte of the State Republican Executive Committee, Self1 registration
  • Self; Harris county ballot security1 registration
  • Self; Republican Party of Texas1 registration

Against

  • ACLU of Texas1 registration
  • Common Cause Texas1 registration
  • Every Texan1 registration
  • Self10 registrations
  • Texas Civil Rights Project1 registration
  • The Brennan Center for Justice1 registration

On

  • Texas Secretary of State1 registration
Sources

26 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.

House witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Fiscal

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · April 14, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

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.

Sources

Texas House · Filed Dec 2, 2024

05/13/2025 H Placed on General State Calendar

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

House committee · Elections · Committee vote 5 aye, 3 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Companion

SB 511 by Bettencourt (identical)

Subjects

City Government--General

County Government--General

Crimes--Miscellaneous

Elections--Early Voting

Elections--Registration & Suffrage

Political Subdivisions

State Employees

State Officers

Text

The text as introduced · 196 words

89R3901 TSS-D

By: Oliverson
H.B. No. 1489

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to prohibiting an officer or employee of this state or of a

political subdivision of this state from distributing certain voter

registration application forms.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 13, Election Code, is

amended by adding Section 13.009 to read as follows:

Sec. 13.009. DISTRIBUTION OF APPLICATION. (a) Except as

provided by Subsection (c) or Subchapter B, an officer or employee

of this state or of a political subdivision of this state may not

distribute a form on which a person may apply for registration to a

person who did not request it.

(b) An officer or employee of this state or of a political

subdivision of this state may not use public funds to facilitate the

distribution by another person of a form described by Subsection

(a) to a person who did not request it.

(c) A political party or a candidate for office may

distribute a form described by Subsection (a) to a person who did

not request it.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.