Monitoring the Session

HB 1491

bill ordering all counties to seek ICE enforcement agreements

Died in committee

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Nate SchatzlineRHouse 93

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 agreements between counties and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce federal immigration law.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

All 254 counties. The attorney general can sue holdouts.

The bill orders every Texas county commissioners court to ask federal immigration authorities for a written agreement that lets county officers and employees enforce federal immigration law, and to sign it when offered. It touches all 254 counties, their officers and employees, and the attorney general, who can sue a county that does not comply. A county a court finds out of compliance loses state grant funds for the next state fiscal year, under rules the comptroller must write.

Labels

Labels: ZOMBIE BILL. Died 2 times: 88R HB 1881 (Died in committee) and this bill (Died in committee). Checked against 88R only.BACK FROM THE DEAD. Same text as a bill filed before that died: 88R HB 1881 (Died in committee). Filed in 2 sessions, counting this one. Checked against 88R only.TRY NO. 2. Filed in 2 sessions: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.NEVER GOT A HEARING. Filed Dec 3, 2024 and referred to the House Intergovernmental Affairs subcommittee on County & Regional Government. No public hearing. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB1491 · 2024-12-03

SOLD BY

Rep. Nate SchatzlineRHouse 93

ITEM

relating to agreements between counties and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce federal immigration law.

WHAT IT DOES

All 254 counties. The attorney general can sue holdouts.

The bill orders every Texas county commissioners court to ask federal immigration authorities for a written agreement that lets county officers and employees enforce federal immigration law, and to sign it when offered. It touches all 254 counties, their officers and employees, and the attorney general, who can sue a county that does not comply. A county a court finds out of compliance loses state grant funds for the next state fiscal year, under rules the comptroller must write.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No fiscal note in the loaded record.

HISTORY

  1. Filed
  2. Read first time
  3. Referred to s/c on County & Regional Government by Speaker
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Nate Schatzline

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC Austin TX$55,000
Texans United for a Conservative Majority Victoria TX$10,000
Dan Patrick Campaign Austin TX$5,000

Derived from itemized gifts, Oct 27, 2024 to Jun 30, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

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

$113,206 raised in 4 of 4 reports since Oct 27, 2024. Derived sum of published report totals. Flow, Oct 27, 2024 through Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026. 4 of 4 filed reports carry a published figure. Partial total. Regular reports do not cover Jul 9, 2025 to Aug 15, 2025, Aug 15, 2025 to Sep 4, 2025.

$220,212 spent since Oct 27, 2024. Derived sum of published report totals. Flow, Oct 27, 2024 through Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026. 4 of 4 filed reports carry a published figure.

$54,238 cash on hand. Published report total. Stock, as of Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026.

$0 loans outstanding. Published report total. Stock, as of Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived sum of itemized contributions in regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Unitemized contributions are not included. Flow, Oct 27, 2024 through Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Money

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

Votes

No floor vote loaded for this bill.

Fiscal

No fiscal note in the loaded record.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.

FILED BEFORE

Filed 2 times: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.

88R HB 1881

by Rep. Schatzline, same lead author · Died in committee · same text

Introduced text

Last action, Mar 7, 2023: Referred to State Affairs

Relating to agreements between counties and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce federal immigration law.

Caption, 88R bill history

Sources

Texas House · Filed Dec 3, 2024

03/11/2025 H Referred to s/c on County & Regional Government by Speaker: Mar 11 2025 3:26PM

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced

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

House committee · Intergovernmental Affairs · Final status: Died in committee

Subjects

County Government--General

IMMIGRATION LAW

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, US

Text

The text as introduced · 355 words

89R5077 MP-D

By: Schatzline
H.B. No. 1491

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to agreements between counties and United States

Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce federal immigration

law.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 351, Local Government

Code, is amended by adding Section 351.905 to read as follows:

Sec. 351.905. IMMIGRATION LAW ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS;

INJUNCTION; DENIAL OF STATE GRANT FUNDS. (a) The commissioners

court of each county shall request and, as offered, enter into a

written agreement with United States Immigration and Customs

Enforcement under Section 287(g), Immigration and Nationality Act

(8 U.S.C. Section 1357(g)), to authorize officers and employees of

the county to enforce federal immigration law.

(b) An agreement entered into under this section must

include the scope, duration, and limitations of the authority.

(c) The attorney general may bring an action against a

county that fails to comply with Subsection (a) in a district court

in Travis County for appropriate injunctive relief.

(d) The attorney general may recover reasonable expenses

incurred in obtaining relief under Subsection (c), including court

costs, reasonable attorney's fees, investigative costs, witness

fees, and deposition costs.

(e) A county may not receive state grant funds, and state

grant funds for the county shall be denied, for the state fiscal

year following the year in which a final judicial determination in

an action brought under Subsection (c) is made that the county has

failed to comply with Subsection (a).

(f) The comptroller shall adopt rules to implement

Subsection (e) uniformly among the state agencies from which state

grant funds are distributed to a county.

SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date

of this Act, the commissioners court of each county shall comply

with Section 351.905, Local Government Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.