Monitoring the Session

HB 206

counties can’t demand pipeline cash bonds unless builders control them

Became law, effective Sep 1, 2025

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Tom CraddickRHouse 82

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 limitations on a county's authority to require a cash bond before approving the construction of a pipeline.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

The pipeline builder gets to approve any use of the bond.

This bill bars a county from requiring a cash bond before approving a pipeline unless the pipeline builder gets the power to approve or deny any use of that bond money. It touches counties and the companies or people who propose to build pipelines within county lines. If the builder denies use of the bond money, the builder gets a full refund, so a county cash bond can no longer be spent without the builder's consent on applications filed on or after September 1, 2025.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB206 · 2024-11-12

SOLD BY

Rep. Tom CraddickRHouse 82

ITEM

relating to limitations on a county's authority to require a cash bond before approving the construction of a pipeline.

WHAT IT DOES

The pipeline builder gets to approve any use of the bond.

This bill bars a county from requiring a cash bond before approving a pipeline unless the pipeline builder gets the power to approve or deny any use of that bond money. It touches counties and the companies or people who propose to build pipelines within county lines. If the builder denies use of the bond money, the builder gets a full refund, so a county cash bond can no longer be spent without the builder's consent on applications filed on or after September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 2, 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 Energy Resources
  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
  16. Read 2nd time
  17. Passed to engrossment
  18. Record vote RV#324
  19. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  20. Read 3rd time
  21. Passed
  22. Record vote RV#379
  23. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  24. Reported engrossed
  25. Received from the House
  26. Read first time
  27. Referred to Natural Resources
  28. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  29. Considered in public hearing
  30. Testimony taken in committee
  31. Left pending in committee
  32. Posting rule suspended
  33. Considered in public hearing
  34. Vote taken in committee
  35. Reported favorably w/o amendments
  36. Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
  37. Committee report printed and distributed
  38. Placed on intent calendar
  39. Rules suspended-Regular order of business
  40. Record vote
  41. Read 2nd time & passed to 3rd reading
  42. Record vote
  43. Three day rule suspended
  44. Record vote
  45. Read 3rd time
  46. Passed
  47. Record vote
  48. Senate passage reported
  49. Reported enrolled
  50. Signed in the House
  51. Signed in the Senate
  52. Sent to the Governor
  53. Signed by the Governor
  54. Effective on 9/1/25
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 114 yea · 34 nay

Senate · 27 yea · 3 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · Apr 23, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · May 12, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

All floor motions and other positions below.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Tom Craddick

Donors

Associated General Contractors of Texas PAC$101KTexans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$70KJohn R. Weisman$30,000

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 29, 2024 to Oct 22, 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.

Associated General Contractors of Texas PAC$100,500.00

Associated General Contractors of Texas PAC

$100,500.00

Cash
$100,500.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$100,500.00

Also funds 120 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 19, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Sep 18, 2025 to May 21, 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.

Report IDs: 101028957, 101058926.

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$70,000.00

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$70,000.00

Cash
$70,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$70,000.00

Also funds 124 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 29, 2024 to Oct 1, 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.

Report IDs: 100986335, 101009831, 101028957, 101071728.

John R. Weisman$30,000.00
Money

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

×

Associated General Contractors of Texas PAC

$100,500.00

Cash
$100,500.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$100,500.00

Also funds 120 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 19, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Sep 18, 2025 to May 21, 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.

Report IDs: 101028957, 101058926.

×

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$70,000.00

Cash
$70,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$70,000.00

Also funds 124 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 29, 2024 to Oct 1, 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.

Report IDs: 100986335, 101009831, 101028957, 101071728.

Votes6

Senate May 12, 2025

Yea
27
Nay
3
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
0
Excused
1
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

Senate journal

Sources

The bill was read third time and was passed by the following vote: Yeas 27, Nays 3. (Same as previous roll call)

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 27 (published)
  • Nay: 3 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 1 (derived from named list)

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate May 12, 2025

Yea
27
Nay
3
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
0
Excused
1
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

Senate journal

Sources

Senator Birdwell moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that HB 206 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 27, Nays 3.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 27 (published)
  • Nay: 3 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 1 (derived from named list)

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate May 12, 2025

Yea
27
Nay
3
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
0
Excused
1
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

Senate journal

Sources

The bill was read second time and was passed to third reading by the following vote: Yeas 27, Nays 3. (Same as previous roll call)

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 27 (published)
  • Nay: 3 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 1 (derived from named list)

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate May 12, 2025

Yea
27
Nay
3
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
0
Excused
1
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

Senate journal

Sources

Senator Birdwell moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up for consideration HB 206 at this time on its second reading: HB 206, Relating to a limitation on a county's authority to require a cash bond before approving the construction of a pipeline. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 27, Nays 3.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 27 (published)
  • Nay: 3 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 1 (derived from named list)

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House Apr 23, 2025

Yea
114
Nay
34
Present, not voting
1
Absent
1
Excused
0
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 379

HB 206 was passed by (Record 379): 114 Yeas, 34 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 114 (published)
  • Nay: 34 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 1 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House Apr 22, 2025

Yea
110
Nay
38
Present, not voting
1
Absent
0
Excused
1
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 324

CSHB 206 was passed to engrossment by (Record 324): 110 Yeas, 38 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 110 (published)
  • Nay: 38 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 1 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Witnesses18
For
11
Against
6
On
1
Names

For

  • Fasken Oil and Ranch1 registration
  • Kinder Morgan1 registration
  • ONEOK, Inc.1 registration
  • Targa Pipeline1 registration
  • Targa Resources2 registrations
  • Texas Association of Builders1 registration
  • Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO)2 registrations
  • Western Midstream2 registrations

Against

  • Leon County and County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas1 registration
  • Self2 registrations
  • Self; Commission Shift Action1 registration
  • Self; Jefferson County, Texas1 registration
  • Self; Public Citizen1 registration

On

  • County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas1 registration
Sources

18 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.

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

Fiscal

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 2, 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 Nov 12, 2024

05/26/2025 E Effective on 9/1/25

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report · Engrossed · Senate Committee Report · Enrolled

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

Sponsors
Brian BirdwellRSenate 22

House committee · Energy Resources · Committee vote 11 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Senate committee · Natural Resources · Committee vote 9 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Subjects

City Government--Annexation

County Government--Finance

Oil & Gas

Utilities--Natural Gas

BONDS

Text

The text as introduced · 188 words

89R1457 ANG-D

By: Craddick
H.B. No. 206

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to limitations on a county's authority to require a cash

bond before approving the construction of a pipeline.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 240, Local Government

Code, is amended by adding Section 240.911 to read as follows:

Sec. 240.911. BOND FOR PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION. (a) A county

may not require a cash bond as a condition of approval for the

construction of a pipeline in the county's boundaries unless the

county grants the person proposing the construction of the pipeline

the right to approve or deny the use of the bond proceeds.

(b) If a person denies the use of the bond proceeds under

Subsection (a), the person is entitled to a full refund of the cash

bond.

SECTION 2. Section 240.911, Local Government Code, as added

by this Act, applies only to an application for approval to

construct a pipeline filed with a county on or after the effective

date of this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.