HB 2294: bill paying Texas Rising Star providers the top rate

Caption

relating to reimbursement rates for child-care providers participating in the Texas Rising Star Program.

Summary

Boards can pay their top rate even when the provider charges less.

The bill lets local workforce boards pay Texas Rising Star child-care providers the board's top reimbursement rate for their quality star level, even when the provider's own published rate is lower. It touches subsidized child-care providers, the workforce boards that pay them, and the families using child-care subsidies. Boards may pay the higher rate only if doing so does not cut the state's target for the average number of subsidized children served each day in that area, starting September 1, 2025.

Labels

Labels: DO-OVER. Reworked text of a bill filed before that died: 88R HB 1834 (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.ACROSS THE AISLE. Joint authors: 1 Republican, 1 Democrat. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.QUICK READ: 140 WORDS. The bill as filed runs 140 words, counting the existing law it amends and the text it strikes. The median 89R bill as filed runs 441 words (derived, 8,702 graded bills, snapshot Oct 19, 2026).

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB2294 · 2025-01-30

SOLD BY

Rep. Senfronia ThompsonDHouse 141

Rep. Keith BellRHouse 4

+ 2 coauthors

ITEM

relating to reimbursement rates for child-care providers participating in the Texas Rising Star Program.

WHAT IT DOES

Boards can pay their top rate even when the provider charges less.

The bill lets local workforce boards pay Texas Rising Star child-care providers the board's top reimbursement rate for their quality star level, even when the provider's own published rate is lower. It touches subsidized child-care providers, the workforce boards that pay them, and the families using child-care subsidies. Boards may pay the higher rate only if doing so does not cut the state's target for the average number of subsidized children served each day in that area, starting September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 21, 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

Jan 30, 2025Filed
Mar 14, 2025Read first time
Mar 14, 2025Referred to Trade, Workforce & Economic Development
Apr 9, 2025Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
Apr 9, 2025Considered in public hearing
Apr 9, 2025Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
Apr 9, 2025Left pending in committee
Apr 23, 2025Considered in public hearing
Apr 23, 2025Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
May 2, 2025Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
May 5, 2025Committee report distributed
May 5, 2025Committee report sent to Calendars
May 6, 2025Considered in Calendars
May 8, 2025Placed on General State Calendar
May 9, 2025Read 2nd time
May 9, 2025Passed to engrossment
May 10, 2025Read 3rd time
May 10, 2025Passed
May 10, 2025Record vote RV#1991
May 10, 2025Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
May 10, 2025Reported engrossed
May 12, 2025Received from the House
May 13, 2025Read first time
May 13, 2025Referred to Economic Development
May 14, 2025Rereferred to committee
May 14, 2025Referred to State Affairs
May 22, 2025Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
May 22, 2025Considered in public hearing
May 22, 2025Testimony taken in committee
May 22, 2025Vote taken in committee
May 23, 2025Reported favorably w/o amendments
May 23, 2025Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
May 23, 2025Committee report printed and distributed
May 26, 2025Co-sponsor authorized
May 26, 2025Placed on intent calendar
May 26, 2025Rules suspended-Regular order of business
May 26, 2025Record vote
May 26, 2025Read 2nd time & passed to 3rd reading
May 26, 2025Record vote
May 26, 2025Three day rule suspended
May 26, 2025Record vote
May 26, 2025Read 3rd time
May 26, 2025Passed
May 26, 2025Record vote
May 26, 2025Senate passage reported
May 27, 2025Reported enrolled
May 27, 2025Signed in the House
May 27, 2025Signed in the Senate
May 28, 2025Sent to the Governor
Jun 20, 2025Signed by the Governor
Jun 20, 2025Effective on 9/1/25

FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 107 yea · 26 nay

Senate · 28 yea · 3 nay

Sources

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

Senate: Final passage · May 26, 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

Senfronia Thompson

Donors

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$40K Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee$23K Texas Sands PAC$14K

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 18, 2024 to Oct 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.

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$40,000.00

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$40,000.00

Cash: $40,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $40,000.00

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 16, 2024 to Sep 29, 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: 100991261, 101012357, 101035257, 101068783.

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee$22,500.00

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

$22,500.00

Cash: $22,500.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $22,500.00

Also funds 140 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 2, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 31, 2024 to Oct 7, 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: 100991261, 101012357, 101035257, 101068783.

Texas Sands PAC$14,000.00

Texas Sands PAC

$14,000.00

Cash: $14,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $14,000.00

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 4, 2024 to Jun 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.

Report IDs: 101011899, 101012357, 101035257.

Money

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

×

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$40,000.00

Cash: $40,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $40,000.00

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 16, 2024 to Sep 29, 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: 100991261, 101012357, 101035257, 101068783.

×

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

$22,500.00

Cash: $22,500.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $22,500.00

Also funds 140 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 2, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 31, 2024 to Oct 7, 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: 100991261, 101012357, 101035257, 101068783.

×

Texas Sands PAC

$14,000.00

Cash: $14,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $14,000.00

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 4, 2024 to Jun 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.

Report IDs: 101011899, 101012357, 101035257.

Votes5

Senate May 26, 2025

Yea: 28
Nay: 3
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: 0
Excused: 0

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 28, Nays 3. (Same as previous roll call)

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

Yea: 28 (published)
Nay: 3 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

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

Senate May 26, 2025

Yea: 28
Nay: 3
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: 0
Excused: 0

Names

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

Senate journal

Sources

Senator Zaffirini moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that HB 2294 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 28, Nays 3.

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

Yea: 28 (published)
Nay: 3 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

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

Senate May 26, 2025

Yea: 28
Nay: 3
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: 0
Excused: 0

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 28, Nays 3. (Same as previous roll call)

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

Yea: 28 (published)
Nay: 3 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

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

Senate May 26, 2025

Yea: 28
Nay: 3
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: 0
Excused: 0

Names

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

Senate journal

Sources

Senator Zaffirini moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up for consideration HB 2294 at this time on its second reading: HB 2294, Relating to reimbursement rates for child-care providers participating in the Texas Rising Star Program. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 28, Nays 3.

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

Yea: 28 (published)
Nay: 3 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

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

House May 10, 2025

Yea: 107
Nay: 26
Present, not voting: 2
Absent: 2
Excused: 13

Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 1991

HB 2294 was passed by (Record 1991): 107 Yeas, 26 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

Yea: 107 (published)
Nay: 26 (published)
Present, not voting: 2 (published)
Absent: 2 (derived from named list)
Excused: 13 (derived from named list)

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

Witnesses20

For: 17
Against: 0
On: 3

Names

For

Child Care Associates1 registration
Children at Risk2 registrations
Every Texan1 registration
Institute to Advance Child Care at CCA1 registration
KinerCare Learning Companies1 registration
Methodist Healthcare Ministries1 registration
Self2 registrations
Self; Austin Travis County Success by Six Coalition1 registration
Self; Goddard School Long Meadow Farms1 registration
Self; Texas Licensed Childcare Association1 registration
Texans Care for Children1 registration
Texas Association of Goodwills1 registration
Texas Economic Development Council1 registration
Umited Way of Texas1 registration
United Ways of Texas1 registration

On

Self; Kiddie Academy of College Station and Kiidie Academy of Bryan1 registration
Texas Workforce Commission2 registrations

Sources

20 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 21, 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 E by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 22, 2026, against the published rubric.

FILED BEFORE

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

88R HB 1834

by Rep. Senfronia Thompson, same lead author · Died in committee · reworked

Introduced text

Last action, Apr 25, 2023: Left pending in committee

Relating to reimbursement rates for child-care providers participating in the Texas Rising Star Program.

Caption, 88R bill history

Sources

Texas House · Filed Jan 30, 2025

06/20/2025 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.

Coauthors

Salman BhojaniDHouse 92

Mihaela PlesaDHouse 70

Companion

SB 972 by Zaffirini (identical)

Subjects

Day Care

WORKFORCE COMMISSION, TEXAS

Text

The text as introduced · 140 words

89R7937 MM-F

By: Thompson
H.B. No. 2294

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to reimbursement rates for child-care providers

participating in the Texas Rising Star Program.

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

SECTION 1. Section 2308.3151, Government Code, is amended

by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:

(e) Each board may reimburse a Texas Rising Star Program

provider in the board's area at the board's maximum rate of

reimbursement for the provider's Texas Rising Star Program rating

level regardless of the provider's published rate only if paying

the higher reimbursement rate does not reduce the commission's

target performance measure for the average number of children

served each day for children receiving subsidized child care in the

workforce development area served by the board.

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

Verdict: No flags

The receipt

SOLD BY

ITEM

WHAT IT DOES

CHARGES

TOTAL

HISTORY

SIGNED FOR BY

Donors

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

Texas Sands PAC

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

Texas Sands PAC

Senate May 26, 2025

Senate May 26, 2025

Senate May 26, 2025

Senate May 26, 2025

House May 10, 2025

For

On

88R HB 1834

Companion