Monitoring the Session

HB 210

School Trustee Owns Over 10 Percent? Guillen Bill Bars The Vendor

Became law, effective Sep 1, 2025

Verdict: Smells

SmellsInitial review
Rep. Ryan GuillenRHouse 31
Why it's charged
Already a crime

THE TEXT

…“any offense under this section is a state jail felony if the vendor directly compensated the individual serving on the school district's board of trustees as consideration for the district entering into a contract with the vendor”

Bill text, introduced version (I)

Based on general knowledge of Texas law, not this text, paying a public official in exchange for a contract is likely already covered by the Penal Code's bribery offense. The bill's main vendor-ownership offense appears new, so this overlap is limited to one subsection.

Already a crime

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 contracting with a school district by a vendor with whom a member of the board of trustees of the district or a related individual has certain business interests; creating a criminal offense.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Fourth offense: state jail felony. Paying a trustee for the contract? The Penal Code likely covers that.

The bill makes it an offense for a vendor to bid on or receive a school district contract when a school board member, or a close relative of a board member, owns more than 10 percent of that vendor. Penalties climb from a Class C misdemeanor on a first offense to a state jail felony on a fourth, and any offense is a state jail felony if the vendor paid the board member in exchange for the contract. It touches school district vendors and the businesses tied to trustees and their families, starting September 1, 2025.

Labels

Labels: CREATES AN OFFENSE. The caption of the graded version (introduced) reads: “relating to contracting with a school district by a vendor with whom a member of the board of trustees of the district or a related individual has certain business interests; creating a criminal offense.”ACROSS THE AISLE. Joint authors: 2 Republicans, 1 Democrat. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB210 · 2024-11-12

SOLD BY

+ 4 coauthors

ITEM

relating to contracting with a school district by a vendor with whom a member of the board of trustees of the district or a related individual has certain business interests; creating a criminal offense.

WHAT IT DOES

Fourth offense: state jail felony. Paying a trustee for the contract? The Penal Code likely covers that.

The bill makes it an offense for a vendor to bid on or receive a school district contract when a school board member, or a close relative of a board member, owns more than 10 percent of that vendor. Penalties climb from a Class C misdemeanor on a first offense to a state jail felony on a fourth, and any offense is a state jail felony if the vendor paid the board member in exchange for the contract. It touches school district vendors and the businesses tied to trustees and their families, starting September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[x] ALREADY A CRIMEanalysis confidence 45%

THE TEXT

…“any offense under this section is a state jail felony if the vendor directly compensated the individual serving on the school district's board of trustees as consideration for the district entering into a contract with the vendor”

Bill text, introduced version (I)

Based on general knowledge of Texas law, not this text, paying a public official in exchange for a contract is likely already covered by the Penal Code's bribery offense. The bill's main vendor-ownership offense appears new, so this overlap is limited to one subsection.

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 6, 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 Public Education
  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 public hearing
  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#199
  19. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  20. Read 3rd time
  21. Passed
  22. Record vote RV#219
  23. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  24. Reported engrossed
  25. Received from the House
  26. Read first time
  27. Referred to Education K-16
  28. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  29. Considered in public hearing
  30. Left pending in committee
  31. Considered in public hearing
  32. Vote taken in committee
  33. Reported favorably w/o amendments
  34. Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
  35. Committee report printed and distributed
  36. Placed on intent calendar
  37. Rules suspended-Regular order of business
  38. Read 2nd time & passed to 3rd reading
  39. Vote recorded in Journal
  40. Three day rule suspended
  41. Record vote
  42. Read 3rd time
  43. Passed
  44. Record vote
  45. Senate passage reported
  46. Reported enrolled
  47. Signed in the House
  48. Signed in the Senate
  49. Sent to the Governor
  50. Signed by the Governor
  51. Effective on 9/1/25
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 146 yea · 0 nay

Senate · 31 yea · 0 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · Apr 16, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · May 16, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

All floor motions and other positions below.

Smells

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Donors

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 · Jul 1, 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.

Frontera Texas PAC$160,007.97

Frontera Texas PAC

$160,007.97

Cash
$0.00
Paid by others
$160,007.97
Total
$160,007.97
Other filed descriptions $73,500.00mail $40,000.00mailing $19,429.94texting $18,144.37digital $8,211.55printing $722.11

Also funds 3 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Nov 5, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 30, 2025 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.

Report IDs: 101033369, 101062168, 101070155, 101073001.

Texas Sands PAC$120,875.00

Texas Sands PAC

$120,875.00

Cash
$113,500.00
Paid by others
$7,375.00
Total
$120,875.00
polling $7,375.00

Also funds 121 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 3, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 14, 2024 to Sep 25, 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: 100989191, 101033369, 101062168, 101073001.

Associated Republicans of Texas Campaign Fund$22,795.90

Associated Republicans of Texas Campaign Fund

$22,795.90

Cash
$0.00
Paid by others
$22,795.90
Total
$22,795.90
polling $15,000.00Other filed descriptions $7,352.14texting $443.76

Also funds 20 other sitting lawmakers.

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

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 15, 2025 to Sep 10, 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: 101033369, 101070155.

Money

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

×

Frontera Texas PAC

$160,007.97

Cash
$0.00
Paid by others
$160,007.97
Total
$160,007.97
Other filed descriptions $73,500.00mail $40,000.00mailing $19,429.94texting $18,144.37digital $8,211.55printing $722.11

Also funds 3 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Nov 5, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 30, 2025 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.

Report IDs: 101033369, 101062168, 101070155, 101073001.

×

Texas Sands PAC

$120,875.00

Cash
$113,500.00
Paid by others
$7,375.00
Total
$120,875.00
polling $7,375.00

Also funds 121 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 3, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 14, 2024 to Sep 25, 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: 100989191, 101033369, 101062168, 101073001.

×

Associated Republicans of Texas Campaign Fund

$22,795.90

Cash
$0.00
Paid by others
$22,795.90
Total
$22,795.90
polling $15,000.00Other filed descriptions $7,352.14texting $443.76

Also funds 20 other sitting lawmakers.

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

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 15, 2025 to Sep 10, 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: 101033369, 101070155.

Votes5

Senate May 16, 2025

Yea
31
Nay
0
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

Sources

Senator A. Hinojosa moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that HB 210 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. The bill was read third time and was passed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 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.

Senate May 16, 2025

Yea
31
Nay
0
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

Sources

Senator A. Hinojosa moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that HB 210 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 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.

Senate May 16, 2025

Yea
Not printed
Nay
Not printed
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

Voice vote. No numeric tally or individual yeas are inferred.

Sources

The bill was read second time and was passed to third reading by a viva voce vote.

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.

House Apr 16, 2025

Yea
146
Nay
0
Present, not voting
1
Absent
3
Excused
0
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 219

HB 210 was passed by (Record 219): 146 Yeas, 0 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 146 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 3 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

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

House Apr 15, 2025

Yea
143
Nay
0
Present, not voting
1
Absent
4
Excused
2
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 199

CSHB 210 was passed to engrossment by (Record 199): 143 Yeas, 0 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 143 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 4 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 2 (derived from named list)

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

Witnesses19
For
11
Against
4
On
4
Names

For

  • Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE)1 registration
  • ATPE1 registration
  • DFER TX1 registration
  • Self3 registrations
  • Texas AFT1 registration
  • Texas Classroom Teachers Association2 registrations
  • Texas Education 9111 registration
  • Texas State Teachers Association1 registration

Against

  • Self3 registrations
  • Self; Families Engaged1 registration

On

  • Self1 registration
  • TEA2 registrations
  • Texas Education Agency1 registration
Sources

19 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 significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 6, 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

05/29/2025 E Effective on 9/1/25

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

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:19 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

Coauthors
Sponsors

House committee · Public Education · Committee vote 12 aye, 0 nay, 3 absent · Out of committee

Senate committee · Education K-16 · Committee vote 11 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Subjects

Business & Commerce--General

Crimes--Miscellaneous

Criminal Procedure--General

Education--Primary & Secondary--Charter Schools

Education--School Districts

Ethics

Purchasing--Local

CONTRACTORS & SUBCONTRACTORS

Text

The text as introduced · 314 words

89R1711 ATP-D

By: Guillen
H.B. No. 210

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to contracting with a school district by a vendor with whom

a member of the board of trustees of the district or a related

individual has certain business interests; creating a criminal

offense.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 11, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 11.067 to read as follows:

Sec. 11.067. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN ACTIVITY BY VENDOR.

(a) A vendor that bids on or receives a contract from a school

district commits an offense if any individual serving on the board

of trustees of the school district:

(1) has a substantial interest in the vendor; or

(2) is related in the second degree by consanguinity

or affinity, as determined under Chapter 573, Government Code, to

an individual who has a substantial interest in the vendor.

(b) An individual has a substantial interest in a vendor if

the individual:

(1) owns more than 10 percent of the voting interest in

the vendor; or

(2) has a direct or indirect participating interest by

shares, stock, or otherwise, regardless of whether voting rights

are included, in more than 10 percent of the profits, proceeds, or

capital gains of the vendor.

(c) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor,

except that a second offense under this section is a Class B

misdemeanor, a third offense under this section is a Class A

misdemeanor, and a fourth or subsequent offense under this section

is a state jail felony.

(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), any offense under this

section is a state jail felony if the vendor directly compensated

the individual serving on the school district's board of trustees

as consideration for the district entering into a contract with the

vendor.

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