Monitoring the Session

HB 2970

Gulf Coast Protection District projects can’t block ship traffic

Became law

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Dennis PaulRHouse 129

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 the implementation of projects by the Gulf Coast Protection District.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

No disrupting two-way ship traffic against the pilot commissioners’ rules.

The bill adds one rule to the law governing the Gulf Coast Protection District: its projects may not disrupt navigation safety or two-way ship traffic in a way that breaks a rule set by the Harris County port pilot commissioners. It touches the district, the projects it builds, and the ships and pilots using the Houston-area waterways. On the ground, district construction must work around the pilot board's traffic and safety rules instead of shutting down or narrowing ship traffic.

Labels

Labels: INSTANT LAW. Took effect immediately, on Jun 20, 2025. 833 of the 1,185 graded 89R laws took effect Sep 1, 2025 (derived from the bill histories, snapshot Oct 19, 2026).ACROSS THE AISLE. Joint authors: 2 Republicans, 2 Democrats. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB2970 · 2025-02-18

SOLD BY

Rep. Dennis PaulRHouse 129 Rep. Armando "Mando" MartinezDHouse 39 Rep. Mary Ann PerezDHouse 144

+ 1 more author, 7 coauthors

ITEM

relating to the implementation of projects by the Gulf Coast Protection District.

WHAT IT DOES

No disrupting two-way ship traffic against the pilot commissioners’ rules.

The bill adds one rule to the law governing the Gulf Coast Protection District: its projects may not disrupt navigation safety or two-way ship traffic in a way that breaks a rule set by the Harris County port pilot commissioners. It touches the district, the projects it builds, and the ships and pilots using the Houston-area waterways. On the ground, district construction must work around the pilot board's traffic and safety rules instead of shutting down or narrowing ship traffic.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version F · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version F · May 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 Natural 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 public hearing
  9. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  10. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  11. Committee report distributed
  12. Committee report sent to Calendars
  13. Considered in Calendars
  14. Placed on General State Calendar
  15. Read 2nd time
  16. Passed to engrossment
  17. Record vote RV#852
  18. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  19. Read 3rd time
  20. Passed
  21. Record vote RV#999
  22. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  23. Reported engrossed
  24. Received from the House
  25. Read first time
  26. Referred to Natural Resources
  27. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  28. Considered in public hearing
  29. Left pending in committee
  30. Posting rule suspended
  31. Considered in public hearing
  32. Vote taken in committee
  33. Reported favorably as substituted
  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 as amended reported
  46. Senate Amendments distributed
  47. Senate Amendments Analysis distributed
  48. House concurs in Senate amendment(s)
  49. Record vote RV#3111
  50. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  51. Text of Senate Amendment(s)
  52. Reported enrolled
  53. Signed in the House
  54. House concurs in Senate amendment(s)-reported
  55. Signed in the Senate
  56. Sent to the Governor
  57. Signed by the Governor
  58. Effective immediately
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 142 yea · 0 nay

Senate · 31 yea · 0 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · Apr 30, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · May 14, 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

Dennis Paul

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$25KRichard Weekley$13KRoger Elswick$11,000

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 28, 2024 to Aug 27, 2025. 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.

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$25,000.00

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$25,000.00

Cash
$25,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$25,000.00

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 · on Jun 25, 2025. 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: 101010120.

Richard Weekley$12,500.00

Richard Weekley

$12,500.00

Cash
$12,500.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$12,500.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · on Jun 27, 2025. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Jun 27, 2025. 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: 101010120.

Roger Elswick$11,000.00
Money

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

×

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$25,000.00

Cash
$25,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$25,000.00

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 · on Jun 25, 2025. 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: 101010120.

×

Richard Weekley

$12,500.00

Cash
$12,500.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$12,500.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · on Jun 27, 2025. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Jun 27, 2025. 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: 101010120.

Votes6

House May 20, 2025

Yea
111
Nay
8
Present, not voting
2
Absent
18
Excused
11
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3111

Representative Paul moved to concur in the senate amendments to HB 2970. The motion to concur in the senate amendments to HB 2970 prevailed by (Record 3111): 111 Yeas, 8 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 111 (published)
  • Nay: 8 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 18 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 11 (derived from named list)

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

Senate May 14, 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 Middleton moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that CSHB 2970 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 14, 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 Middleton moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that CSHB 2970 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 14, 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 30, 2025

Yea
142
Nay
0
Present, not voting
1
Absent
2
Excused
5
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 999

HB 2970 was passed by (Record 999): 142 Yeas, 0 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 142 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 2 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 5 (derived from named list)

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

House Apr 29, 2025

Yea
141
Nay
0
Present, not voting
1
Absent
7
Excused
1
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 852

HB 2970 was passed to engrossment by (Record 852): 141 Yeas, 0 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 141 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 7 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 1 (derived from named list)

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

Witnesses14
For
14
Against
0
On
0
Names

For

  • Enterprise Products1 registration
  • Enterprise Products Partners1 registration
  • Greater Houston Port Bureau2 registrations
  • Houston Pilots1 registration
  • Self2 registrations
  • Targa Resources1 registration
  • Targa Resources Corp.1 registration
  • Texas Association of Business1 registration
  • Texas Chemistry Council2 registrations
  • Texas Waterway Operators Association1 registration
  • Valero Energy Corporation1 registration
Sources

14 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 F · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version F · May 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 Feb 18, 2025

06/20/2025 E Effective immediately

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

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 6:51 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

Coauthors
Brad BuckleyRHouse 54 Mano DeAyalaRHouse 133 Ann JohnsonDHouse 134 Terri Leo WilsonRHouse 23 Christian ManuelDHouse 22 Penny Morales ShawDHouse 148 Denise VillalobosRHouse 34
Sponsors
Mayes MiddletonRSenate 11

House committee · Natural Resources · Committee vote 11 aye, 0 nay, 2 absent · Out of committee

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

Companion

SB 410 by Middleton (similar)

Subjects

GULF COAST PROTECTION DISTRICT (DO6XQ)

Governor

Special Districts & Authorities--Miscellaneous

Water--Navigation & Ports

Text

The text as introduced · 155 words

89R13134 JTZ-D

By: Paul
H.B. No. 2970

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the implementation of projects by the Gulf Coast

Protection District.

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

SECTION 1. Section 9502.0301, Special District Local Laws

Code, is amended by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:

(f) Implementation of a project described by Subsection (a)

may not disrupt navigation safety or two-way traffic, as defined by

Section 66.0172, Transportation Code, in a manner that violates a

rule adopted by the board of pilot commissioners for the ports of

Harris County under Chapter 66, Transportation Code.

SECTION 2. 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.