Verdict: No flags
No flags Initial review
Rep. Philip Cortez D House 117
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 authority of a political subdivision to regulate
construction and renovation of structures owned by certain
counties.
Caption from analyzed text · version I.
Summary 3.3 million down to one million.
The bill lowers the county population cutoff in an existing state law on local regulation of county-owned buildings from 3.3 million to one million. It touches large counties that own buildings inside a city or other local government, and the local governments that would regulate that construction or renovation. More counties' buildings fall under the existing state rules limiting how another local government may regulate their construction and renovation, starting September 1, 2025.
Labels Labels: NO AUTOGRAPH. Became law without the governor's signature on Jun 20, 2025. QUICK READ: 103 WORDS. The bill as filed runs 103 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-HB3234 · 2025-02-24
ITEM relating to the authority of a political subdivision to regulate
construction and renovation of structures owned by certain
counties.
WHAT IT DOES 3.3 million down to one million.
The bill lowers the county population cutoff in an existing state law on local regulation of county-owned buildings from 3.3 million to one million. It touches large counties that own buildings inside a city or other local government, and the local governments that would regulate that construction or renovation. More counties' buildings fall under the existing state rules limiting how another local government may regulate their construction and renovation, starting September 1, 2025.
TOTAL No 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 Feb 24, 2025 Filed Mar 20, 2025 Read first time Mar 20, 2025 Referred to s/c on County & Regional Government by Speaker Apr 21, 2025 Scheduled for public hearing in s/c on . . . Apr 21, 2025 Considered by s/c in public hearing Apr 21, 2025 Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in subcommittee Apr 21, 2025 Left pending in subcommittee Apr 30, 2025 Recalled from subcommittee Apr 30, 2025 Considered in formal meeting Apr 30, 2025 Reported favorably w/o amendment(s) May 7, 2025 Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator May 7, 2025 Committee report distributed May 8, 2025 Committee report sent to Calendars May 10, 2025 Considered in Calendars May 12, 2025 Placed on General State Calendar May 15, 2025 Read 2nd time May 15, 2025 Passed to engrossment May 15, 2025 Record vote RV#2779 May 15, 2025 Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal May 16, 2025 Read 3rd time May 16, 2025 Passed May 16, 2025 Record vote RV#2882 May 16, 2025 Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal May 16, 2025 Reported engrossed May 19, 2025 Received from the House May 19, 2025 Read first time May 19, 2025 Referred to Local Government May 21, 2025 Posting rule suspended May 22, 2025 Co-sponsor authorized May 22, 2025 Scheduled for public hearing on . . . May 22, 2025 Considered in public hearing May 22, 2025 Testimony taken in committee May 22, 2025 Vote taken in committee May 22, 2025 Reported favorably w/o amendments May 22, 2025 Recommended for local & uncontested calendar May 22, 2025 Committee report printed and distributed May 25, 2025 Co-sponsor authorized May 25, 2025 Placed on intent calendar May 25, 2025 Rules suspended-Regular order of business May 25, 2025 Read 2nd time & passed to 3rd reading May 25, 2025 Vote recorded in Journal May 25, 2025 Three day rule suspended May 25, 2025 Record vote May 25, 2025 Read 3rd time May 25, 2025 Passed May 25, 2025 Record vote May 26, 2025 Senate passage reported May 26, 2025 Reported enrolled May 27, 2025 Signed in the House May 27, 2025 Signed in the Senate May 28, 2025 Sent to the Governor Jun 20, 2025 Filed without the Governor's signature Jun 20, 2025 Effective on 9/1/25 FILED UNDER SIGNED FOR BY House · 95 yea · 28 nay
Senate · 31 yea · 0 nay
Sources House: Final passage · May 16, 2025. Journal . Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Senate: Final passage · May 25, 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
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 · Oct 28, 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.
Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC $44,000.00 Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC $44,000.00
Cash $44,000.00
Paid by others $0.00
Total $44,000.00 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 · Dec 6, 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: 100985407, 101008363, 101026711, 101035640, 101039466, 101052595, 101071633.
Texas Sands PAC $37,000.00 Texas Sands PAC $37,000.00
Cash $37,000.00
Paid by others $0.00
Total $37,000.00 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 6, 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.
Report IDs: 100985407, 101039466, 101071633.
Physicians for Free Market Healthcare PAC $35,000.00 Physicians for Free Market Healthcare PAC $35,000.00
Cash $35,000.00
Paid by others $0.00
Total $35,000.00 Also funds 33 other sitting lawmakers.
Derived recipient stock · Jun 30, 2025 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.
TEC account match.
Team Sources Derived itemized flow · Sep 22, 2025 to Oct 15, 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: 101026711, 101035640, 101071633.
Money Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.
× Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC $44,000.00
Cash $44,000.00
Paid by others $0.00
Total $44,000.00 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 · Dec 6, 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: 100985407, 101008363, 101026711, 101035640, 101039466, 101052595, 101071633.
× Texas Sands PAC $37,000.00
Cash $37,000.00
Paid by others $0.00
Total $37,000.00 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 6, 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.
Report IDs: 100985407, 101039466, 101071633.
× Physicians for Free Market Healthcare PAC $35,000.00
Cash $35,000.00
Paid by others $0.00
Total $35,000.00 Also funds 33 other sitting lawmakers.
Derived recipient stock · Jun 30, 2025 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.
TEC account match.
Team Sources Derived itemized flow · Sep 22, 2025 to Oct 15, 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: 101026711, 101035640, 101071633.
Votes5
Senate May 25, 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 Menéndez moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that HB 3234 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 25, 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 Menéndez moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that HB 3234 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 25, 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 May 16, 2025
Yea 95
Nay 28
Present, not voting 2
Absent 8
Excused 17
Names
Davis, A. Yea Louderback Yea Schoolcraft Nay Allen Yea Hernandez Excused Rodríguez Ramos Yea Hopper Nay Orr Nay Button Yea Johnson Yea Martinez Yea Walle Excused Gervin-Hawkins Excused Bumgarner Yea Buckley Yea Money Absent Harrison Nay Cain Nay Landgraf Excused Noble Nay Tepper Yea Fairly Absent Harris Davila Nay Isaac Yea Garcia Hernandez Yea Bell, C. Yea Ward Johnson Yea Cunningham Yea Geren Yea Turner Yea Manuel Yea Morales, C. Yea Ordaz Yea Harris Yea Vasut(C) Present, not voting Hefner Nay Phelan Yea Alders Nay Cook Absent Lowe Nay Spiller Yea Villalobos Yea Paul Yea Bernal Yea McLaughlin Yea Howard Yea Darby Yea Mr. Speaker Present, not voting Morales, E. Yea Campos Yea Troxclair Absent Gámez Excused Zwiener Yea Gates Yea VanDeaver Yea Wu Yea Hinojosa Yea Capriglione Excused Bonnen Absent Dutton Excused Kerwin Excused Hickland Nay Vo Yea Lozano Yea Frank Yea Talarico Excused Lopez, J. Yea Holt Nay Patterson Nay Dean Excused Barry Yea Leach Yea González, J. Yea Shofner Nay Moody Yea Bryant Yea Bucy Yea Lujan Yea McQueeney Yea Smithee Yea Jones, J. Yea Rosenthal Yea Garcia, J. Yea Pierson Nay Bell, K. Yea King Excused Richardson Absent Hull Nay Simmons Yea Garcia, L. Yea Flores Yea DeAyala Yea LaHood Nay Dorazio Yea Perez, M. Yea González, M. Yea Morgan Yea Shaheen Nay Plesa Excused Olcott Nay Schofield Excused Little Yea Meyer Yea Schatzline Nay Collier Yea Longoria Excused Curry Yea Dyson Yea Morales Shaw Yea Cortez Yea Guerra Yea Anchía Excused Romero Yea Lopez, R. Yea Bowers Yea Hayes Yea Raymond Yea Reynolds Yea Guillen Yea Bhojani Yea Harless Yea Thompson Yea Muñoz Yea Slawson Nay Luther Yea Cole Yea Gerdes Nay Kitzman Yea Lambert Yea Toth Nay Lalani Excused Leo Wilson Nay Canales Absent Wilson Yea Meza Yea Hunter Yea Craddick Yea Oliverson Nay Rose Yea Tinderholt Yea Ashby Yea Martinez Fischer Yea Wharton Nay Swanson Excused Jones, V. Yea Goodwin Yea Perez, V. Yea Virdell Nay Metcalf Nay Davis, Y. Absent Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.
House journal
Sources
Record 2882
HB 3234 was passed by (Record 2882): 95 Yeas, 28 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 95 (published) Nay: 28 (published) Present, not voting: 2 (published) Absent: 8 (derived from named list) Excused: 17 (derived from named list) House journal . Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
House May 15, 2025
Yea 96
Nay 41
Present, not voting 1
Absent 7
Excused 5
Names
Davis, A. Yea Louderback Nay Schoolcraft Nay Allen Yea Hernandez Yea Rodríguez Ramos Yea Hopper Nay Orr Yea Button Yea Johnson Yea Martinez Yea Walle Absent Gervin-Hawkins Excused Bumgarner Yea Buckley Yea Money Yea Harrison Nay Cain Nay Landgraf Yea Noble Nay Tepper Yea Fairly Nay Harris Davila Yea Isaac Yea Garcia Hernandez Yea Bell, C. Nay Ward Johnson Yea Cunningham Yea Geren Yea Turner Yea Manuel Yea Morales, C. Yea Ordaz Yea Harris Yea Vasut Nay Hefner Nay Phelan Yea Alders Nay Cook Nay Lowe Nay Spiller Yea Villalobos Yea Paul Yea Bernal Yea McLaughlin Nay Howard Yea Darby Nay Mr. Speaker(C) Present, not voting Morales, E. Yea Campos Yea Troxclair Nay Gámez Yea Zwiener Yea Gates Yea VanDeaver Yea Wu Yea Hinojosa Yea Capriglione Nay Bonnen Nay Dutton Excused Kerwin Absent Hickland Nay Vo Yea Lozano Nay Frank Yea Talarico Yea Lopez, J. Yea Holt Nay Patterson Nay Dean Absent Barry Nay Leach Nay González, J. Yea Shofner Nay Moody Yea Bryant Yea Bucy Yea Lujan Yea McQueeney Nay Smithee Yea Jones, J. Yea Rosenthal Yea Garcia, J. Yea Pierson Nay Bell, K. Yea King Yea Richardson Yea Hull Nay Simmons Yea Garcia, L. Yea Flores Yea DeAyala Yea LaHood Nay Dorazio Yea Perez, M. Yea González, M. Yea Morgan Yea Shaheen Yea Plesa Yea Olcott Nay Schofield Excused Little Yea Meyer Yea Schatzline Absent Collier Yea Longoria Yea Curry Yea Dyson Yea Morales Shaw Absent Cortez Yea Guerra Yea Anchía Excused Romero Yea Lopez, R. Yea Bowers Absent Hayes Yea Raymond Yea Reynolds Yea Guillen Yea Bhojani Yea Harless Yea Thompson Yea Muñoz Yea Slawson Nay Luther Yea Cole Yea Gerdes Nay Kitzman Yea Lambert Absent Toth Nay Lalani Yea Leo Wilson Nay Canales Excused Wilson Yea Meza Yea Hunter Yea Craddick Yea Oliverson Nay Rose Yea Tinderholt Nay Ashby Nay Martinez Fischer Yea Wharton Nay Swanson Nay Jones, V. Yea Goodwin Yea Perez, V. Yea Virdell Nay Metcalf Nay Davis, Y. Yea Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.
House journal
Sources
Record 2779
HB 3234 was passed to engrossment by (Record 2779): 96 Yeas, 41 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 96 (published) Nay: 41 (published) Present, not voting: 1 (published) Absent: 7 (derived from named list) Excused: 5 (derived from named list) House journal . Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Witnesses13
For 12
Against 1
On 0
Names
For
Bexar County Commissioners Court 3 registrations Conference of Urban Counties 1 registration Dallas County 1 registration Dallas County Commissioners Court 1 registration Director, Intergovernmental Relations, Tarrant County 1 registration Harris County Commissioners Court 1 registration Self 1 registration Tarrant County Administrator's Office 1 registration Travis County Commissioners Court 2 registrations
Against
City of Dallas 1 registration
Sources
13 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 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 I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric .
Sources
Texas House · Filed Feb 24, 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.
Sponsors Cosponsors House committee · Intergovernmental Affairs · Committee vote 11 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee
Senate committee · Local Government · Committee vote 5 aye, 0 nay, 2 absent · Out of committee
Subjects County Government--General
County Government--Land Use & Zoning
Political Subdivisions
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
Text The text as introduced · 103 words
89R7863 JBD-F
By: Cortez
H.B. No. 3234
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of a political subdivision to regulate
construction and renovation of structures owned by certain
counties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 245.007(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) This section applies only to a building or facility that
is owned by a county with a population of one [ 3.3 ] million or more
and is located within the boundaries of another political
subdivision.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
Monitoring 
