HB 3978
bill limiting cities to one petition annexation a year
Died in committee
Verdict: No flags
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 municipal authority to annex certain areas by petition.
Caption from analyzed text · version I.
Summary
Areas with fewer than 200 people, one per calendar year.
The bill limits a Texas city to annexing only one small area per calendar year under the petition-based annexation process for areas with fewer than 200 people. It touches cities that annex by petition and the residents and landowners of small unincorporated areas near them. Cities that now can take in several petitioned areas in a year would be capped at one, with the existing voter and landowner petition requirements unchanged.
Labels
Labels: NEVER GOT A HEARING. Filed Mar 6, 2025 and referred to the House Land & Resource Management committee. No public hearing. The bill died.
Receipt
The receipt
89R-HB3978 · 2025-03-06
SOLD BY
ITEM
relating to municipal authority to annex certain areas by petition.
WHAT IT DOES
Areas with fewer than 200 people, one per calendar year.
The bill limits a Texas city to annexing only one small area per calendar year under the petition-based annexation process for areas with fewer than 200 people. It touches cities that annex by petition and the residents and landowners of small unincorporated areas near them. Cities that now can take in several petitioned areas in a year would be capped at one, with the existing voter and landowner petition requirements unchanged.
CHARGES
[ ] NONE FOUND
TOTAL
No fiscal note in the loaded record.
HISTORY
- Filed
- Read first time
- Referred to Land & Resource Management
FILED UNDER
No verified beat found.
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 · Nov 4, 2024 to Oct 23, 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$574,750.00
Texas Conservative Majority PAC
$574,750.00
- Cash
- $200,000.00
- Paid by others
- $374,750.00
- Total
- $574,750.00
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.
TeamSources
Derived itemized flow · Aug 14, 2026 to Oct 23, 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: 101069161, 101072822.
Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$363,511.10
Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC
$363,511.10
- Cash
- $195,000.00
- Paid by others
- $168,511.10
- Total
- $363,511.10
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.
TeamSources
Derived itemized flow · Jun 23, 2025 to Oct 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: 101007087, 101036173, 101040588, 101060020, 101069161, 101072822.
Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.
Texas Conservative Majority PAC
$574,750.00
- Cash
- $200,000.00
- Paid by others
- $374,750.00
- Total
- $574,750.00
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.
TeamSources
Derived itemized flow · Aug 14, 2026 to Oct 23, 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: 101069161, 101072822.
Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC
$363,511.10
- Cash
- $195,000.00
- Paid by others
- $168,511.10
- Total
- $363,511.10
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.
TeamSources
Derived itemized flow · Jun 23, 2025 to Oct 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: 101007087, 101036173, 101040588, 101060020, 101069161, 101072822.
Votes
No floor vote loaded for this bill.
Fiscal
No fiscal note in the loaded record.
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 Mar 6, 2025
03/27/2025 H Referred to Land & Resource Management: Mar 27 2025 11:57AM
Texas Legislature Online · Introduced
Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.
House committee · Land & Resource Management · Final status: Died in committee
Subjects
City Government--Annexation
Text
The text as introduced · 215 words
89R14874 SCL-D By: Richardson H.B. No. 3978 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to municipal authority to annex certain areas by petition. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 43.0681, Local Government Code, is amended to read as follows: Sec. 43.0681. AUTHORITY TO ANNEX. (a) Subject to Subsection (b), a [ A ] municipality may annex an area with a population of less than 200 only if the following conditions are met, as applicable: (1) the municipality obtains consent to annex the area through a petition signed by more than 50 percent of the registered voters of the area; and (2) if the registered voters of the area do not own more than 50 percent of the land in the area, the petition described by Subdivision (1) is signed by more than 50 percent of the owners of land in the area. (b) A municipality may only annex one area under this subchapter per calendar year. 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.