Monitoring the Session

HB 3479

Carrizo cane program becomes the Rio Grande vegetative management program

Became law

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Matt MorganRHouse 26

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 Rio Grande vegetative management program.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Eradicating becomes managing. Border security added.

The bill renames the state soil and water board's Carrizo cane eradication program as the Rio Grande vegetative management program. It changes the program's goal from eradicating Carrizo cane to managing Carrizo cane and other noxious vegetation that impedes border security along the Rio Grande. The board's existing duty to develop and run the program stays, but its scope widens to other plants and its target shifts from eradication to management.

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).CROSS-PARTY HANDOFF. Lead author Matt Morgan (R) in the House. Lead sponsor Judith Zaffirini (D) in the Senate. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.QUICK READ: 143 WORDS. The bill as filed runs 143 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-HB3479 · 2025-02-27

SOLD BY

Rep. Matt MorganRHouse 26 Rep. Don McLaughlinRHouse 80 Rep. Richard HayesRHouse 57

+ 1 more author, 41 coauthors

ITEM

relating to the Rio Grande vegetative management program.

WHAT IT DOES

Eradicating becomes managing. Border security added.

The bill renames the state soil and water board's Carrizo cane eradication program as the Rio Grande vegetative management program. It changes the program's goal from eradicating Carrizo cane to managing Carrizo cane and other noxious vegetation that impedes border security along the Rio Grande. The board's existing duty to develop and run the program stays, but its scope widens to other plants and its target shifts from eradication to management.

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 15, 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 Agriculture & Livestock
  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. Recommended to be sent to Local & Consent
  10. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  11. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  12. Committee report distributed
  13. Comm. report sent to Local & Consent Calendar
  14. Considered in Local & Consent Calendars
  15. Placed on Local, Consent, and Res. Calendar
  16. Withdrawn from calendar (contested)
  17. Returned to Local & Consent Calendars Comm.
  18. Considered in Local & Consent Calendars
  19. Transferred to Calendars Committee
  20. Committee report sent to Calendars
  21. Considered in Calendars
  22. Placed on General State Calendar
  23. Read 2nd time
  24. Passed to engrossment
  25. Record vote RV#907
  26. Read 3rd time
  27. Passed
  28. Record vote RV#1047
  29. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  30. Reported engrossed
  31. Received from the House
  32. Read first time
  33. Referred to Water, Agriculture, & Rural Affairs
  34. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  35. Considered in public hearing
  36. Vote taken in committee
  37. Reported favorably w/o amendments
  38. Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
  39. Committee report printed and distributed
  40. Co-sponsor authorized
  41. Placed on intent calendar
  42. Rules suspended-Regular order of business
  43. Read 2nd time & passed to 3rd reading
  44. Vote recorded in Journal
  45. Three day rule suspended
  46. Record vote
  47. Read 3rd time
  48. Passed
  49. Record vote
  50. Senate passage reported
  51. Reported enrolled
  52. Signed in the House
  53. Signed in the Senate
  54. Sent to the Governor
  55. Signed by the Governor
  56. Effective immediately
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 127 yea · 9 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 21, 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

Matt Morgan

Donors

Texas Conservative Majority PAC$199KTexans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$150KTexans for Truth and Liberty PAC$55K

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 27, 2024 to Oct 20, 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 Conservative Majority PAC$199,350.00

Texas Conservative Majority PAC

$199,350.00

Cash
$125,000.00
Paid by others
$74,350.00
Total
$199,350.00
canvassing $58,100.00polling $16,250.00

Also funds 42 other sitting lawmakers.

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

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Aug 17, 2026 to Oct 8, 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: 101067971, 101072248.

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$150,123.30

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$150,123.30

Cash
$105,000.00
Paid by others
$45,123.30
Total
$150,123.30
mail $28,873.30polling $16,250.00

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 · Aug 20, 2026 to Oct 5, 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: 101067971, 101072248.

Texans for Truth and Liberty PAC$55,000.00

Texans for Truth and Liberty PAC

$55,000.00

Cash
$55,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$55,000.00

Also funds 44 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jun 24, 2025 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Jun 24, 2025 to Sep 30, 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: 101006291, 101067971, 101072248.

Money

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

×

Texas Conservative Majority PAC

$199,350.00

Cash
$125,000.00
Paid by others
$74,350.00
Total
$199,350.00
canvassing $58,100.00polling $16,250.00

Also funds 42 other sitting lawmakers.

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

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Aug 17, 2026 to Oct 8, 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: 101067971, 101072248.

×

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$150,123.30

Cash
$105,000.00
Paid by others
$45,123.30
Total
$150,123.30
mail $28,873.30polling $16,250.00

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 · Aug 20, 2026 to Oct 5, 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: 101067971, 101072248.

×

Texans for Truth and Liberty PAC

$55,000.00

Cash
$55,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$55,000.00

Also funds 44 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jun 24, 2025 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Jun 24, 2025 to Sep 30, 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: 101006291, 101067971, 101072248.

Votes5

Senate May 21, 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 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 3479 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 21, 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 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 3479 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 21, 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
127
Nay
9
Present, not voting
2
Absent
0
Excused
12
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 1047

HB 3479 was passed by (Record 1047): 127 Yeas, 9 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 127 (published)
  • Nay: 9 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 12 (derived from named list)

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

House Apr 29, 2025

Yea
147
Nay
0
Present, not voting
2
Absent
1
Excused
0
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 907

HB 3479 was passed to engrossment by (Record 907): 147 Yeas, 0 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 147 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 1 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

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

Witnesses7
For
4
Against
0
On
3
Names

For

  • Brownsville Public Utilities Board1 registration
  • Self; South Texans’ Property Rights Association2 registrations
  • Texas Conservation Association for Water and Soil1 registration

On

  • Self; Pecan Bayou Soil and Water Conservation District2 registrations
  • Texas State Soil & Water Conservation Board1 registration
Sources

7 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 15, 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 27, 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 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

Coauthors
Daniel AldersRHouse 6 Trent AshbyRHouse 9 Jeff BarryRHouse 29 Benjamin BumgarnerRHouse 63 David CookRHouse 96 Tom CraddickRHouse 82 Charles CunninghamRHouse 127 Jay DeanRHouse 7 Mano DeAyalaRHouse 133 Mark DorazioRHouse 122 Paul DysonRHouse 14 Caroline FairlyRHouse 87 James FrankRHouse 69 Ryan GuillenRHouse 31 Cody HarrisRHouse 8 Janis HoltRHouse 18 Andy HopperRHouse 64 Stan KitzmanRHouse 85 Marc LaHoodRHouse 121 Mitch LittleRHouse 65 AJ LouderbackRHouse 30 David LoweRHouse 91 J. M. LozanoRHouse 43 John LujanRHouse 118 Brent MoneyRHouse 2 Candy NobleRHouse 89 Mike OlcottRHouse 60 Tom OliversonRHouse 130 Jared PattersonRHouse 106 Dennis PaulRHouse 129 Katrina PiersonRHouse 33 Richard Peña RaymondDHouse 42 Keresa RichardsonRHouse 61 Nate SchatzlineRHouse 93 Alan SchoolcraftRHouse 44 Matt ShaheenRHouse 66 Joanne ShofnerRHouse 11 Shelby SlawsonRHouse 59 Steve TothRHouse 15 Cody VasutRHouse 25 Trey WhartonRHouse 12
Sponsors
Judith ZaffiriniDSenate 21
Cosponsors
César BlancoDSenate 29 Roland GutierrezDSenate 19 Adam HinojosaRSenate 27 Juan "Chuy" HinojosaDSenate 20

House committee · Agriculture & Livestock · Committee vote 7 aye, 0 nay, 2 absent · Out of committee

Senate committee · Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs · Committee vote 8 aye, 0 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Subjects

RIO GRANDE RIVER

Agriculture

BORDER

SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION BOARD, TEXAS STATE

Text

The text as introduced · 143 words

89R312 MP-D

By: Morgan
H.B. No. 3479

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the Rio Grande vegetative management program.

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

SECTION 1. Section 201.0225, Agriculture Code, is amended

to read as follows:

Sec. 201.0225. RIO GRANDE VEGETATIVE MANAGEMENT [ CARRIZO

CANE ERADICATION ] PROGRAM. The state board shall develop and

implement the Rio Grande vegetative management [ a ] program to

manage [ eradicate ] Carrizo cane and other noxious vegetation that

impedes border security along the Rio Grande River.

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.