Monitoring the Session

HB 4142

Wharton Bill Lets A Handful Of Counties Name Weight Officers

Did not pass

Verdict: Smells

SmellsInitial review
Rep. Trey WhartonRHouse 12
Why it's charged
Bracket bill

THE TEXT

“that has a population of more than 75,000 but less”…

Bill text, introduced version (I)

A tight population band, tied to being next to a county that holds a 20,000-acre federally created planned community next to a 3.3 million county, aims the law at a handful of places. The caption admits it covers only certain counties, so this is a tag rather than a trick.

Bracket bill

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 designation of a weight enforcement officer by a commissioners court in certain counties.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Counties of 75,000 to 90,000, next to the one with a 20,000-acre federally created planned community.

The bill lets a county commissioners court name a constable or deputy constable as a weight enforcement officer in a few more narrowly described counties. It rewrites the list so one county type must both be next to a county of 3.3 million or more and contain a large federally created planned community, and it adds counties of 75,000 to 90,000 people next to that county. In those counties, local constables could enforce truck weight limits starting September 1, 2025.

Labels

Labels: STALLED AFTER COMMITTEE. Voted out of the House Transportation committee 11-0 on May 9, 2025. Placed on the General State Calendar on May 15, 2025. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB4142 · 2025-03-10

SOLD BY

Rep. Trey WhartonRHouse 12

ITEM

relating to the designation of a weight enforcement officer by a commissioners court in certain counties.

WHAT IT DOES

Counties of 75,000 to 90,000, next to the one with a 20,000-acre federally created planned community.

The bill lets a county commissioners court name a constable or deputy constable as a weight enforcement officer in a few more narrowly described counties. It rewrites the list so one county type must both be next to a county of 3.3 million or more and contain a large federally created planned community, and it adds counties of 75,000 to 90,000 people next to that county. In those counties, local constables could enforce truck weight limits starting September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[x] BRACKET BILLanalysis confidence 60%

THE TEXT

“that has a population of more than 75,000 but less”…

Bill text, introduced version (I)

A tight population band, tied to being next to a county that holds a 20,000-acre federally created planned community next to a 3.3 million county, aims the law at a handful of places. The caption admits it covers only certain counties, so this is a tag rather than a trick.

TOTAL

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 29, 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 Transportation
  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. 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
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

Smells

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Trey Wharton

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$20KTexas Sands PAC$12KClint McLaren$7,205

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 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.

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$20,000.00

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$20,000.00

Cash
$20,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$20,000.00

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 · Jun 30, 2025 to Oct 19, 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: 101004685, 101026029, 101071395.

Texas Sands PAC$12,000.00

Texas Sands PAC

$12,000.00

Cash
$12,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$12,000.00

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 12, 2024 to Oct 19, 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: 100981751, 101056205, 101071395.

Clint McLaren$7,205.31
Money

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

×

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$20,000.00

Cash
$20,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$20,000.00

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 · Jun 30, 2025 to Oct 19, 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: 101004685, 101026029, 101071395.

×

Texas Sands PAC

$12,000.00

Cash
$12,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$12,000.00

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 12, 2024 to Oct 19, 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: 100981751, 101056205, 101071395.

Votes

No floor vote loaded for this bill.

Witnesses4
For
0
Against
4
On
0
Names

Against

  • Self1 registration
  • Texas Forestry Association2 registrations
  • Texas Trucking Association1 registration
Sources

4 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.

Fiscal

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 29, 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 Mar 10, 2025

05/15/2025 H Placed on General State Calendar

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:19 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

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

Subjects

NEW WAVERLY, CITY OF (G00AW)

City Government--Roads

Vehicles & Traffic--Rules of Road

VEHICLE WEIGHT LIMITS & ENFORCEMENT

Text

The text as introduced · 218 words

89R10523 JAM-D

By: Wharton
H.B. No. 4142

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the designation of a weight enforcement officer by a

commissioners court in certain counties.

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

SECTION 1. Section 621.4015(a), Transportation Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(a) A county commissioners court may designate a constable

or deputy constable of the county as a weight enforcement officer in

a county:

(1) that is a county with a population of 1.5 million

or more and is within 200 miles of an international border; [ or ]

(2) that is adjacent to a county with a population of

3.3 million or more , [ ; ] and

[ (3) ] in which a planned community is located that has

20,000 or more acres of land, that was originally established under

the National Urban Policy [ Growth ] and New Community Development

Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. Section 4501 et seq.), and that is subject to

restrictive covenants containing ad valorem or annual variable

budget based assessments on real property ; or

(3) that has a population of more than 75,000 but less

than 90,000 and is adjacent to a county described by Subdivision

(2) .

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