HB 4838
Morales Shaw Bill Creates A Coordinator Job For One Report
Did not pass
Verdict: Smells
Smells Needs review
Rep. Penny Morales Shaw D House 148
Both charges, and why
Study, task force, commission, report
THE TEXT
…“the coordinator shall conduct the assessment described by that subsection and submit to the executive commissioner a written report”… Bill text , House committee report version (H)
The only output is an assessment and a report with recommendations. Any real change to language access waits on later action. The caption honestly says the bill is an assessment.
Study, task force, commission, report
New fee, fund, board or appointees
THE TEXT
…“the commission shall employ a language access coordinator”… Bill text , House committee report version (H)
The bill creates a new staff position at the commission to carry out the study.
New fee, fund, board or appointees
Needs review · Nov 1, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade
Caption relating to conducting an assessment of language accessibility with
respect to certain health and human services programs and 2-1-1
services provided by the Texas Information and Referral Network.
Caption from analyzed text · version H.
Summary A report within a year of hiring. Nothing changes in services. Expires June 1, 2027.
The bill orders the Health and Human Services Commission to hire a language access coordinator to study how well non-English speakers can reach its programs and 2-1-1 services. The coordinator must send a written report with findings and recommendations to the executive commissioner within one year of being hired. Nothing changes in how services are delivered, because the bill only produces a report, and the whole Act expires June 1, 2027.
Labels Labels: ACROSS THE AISLE. Joint authors: 2 Republicans, 3 Democrats. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature. GOT HALFWAY. Passed the House on May 12, 2025. Died in the Senate: received, never referred to a committee.
Receipt
The receipt 89R-HB4838 · 2025-03-13
SOLD BY + 2 more authors, 11 coauthors
ITEM relating to conducting an assessment of language accessibility with
respect to certain health and human services programs and 2-1-1
services provided by the Texas Information and Referral Network.
WHAT IT DOES A report within a year of hiring. Nothing changes in services. Expires June 1, 2027.
The bill orders the Health and Human Services Commission to hire a language access coordinator to study how well non-English speakers can reach its programs and 2-1-1 services. The coordinator must send a written report with findings and recommendations to the executive commissioner within one year of being hired. Nothing changes in how services are delivered, because the bill only produces a report, and the whole Act expires June 1, 2027.
CHARGES
[x] STUDY, TASK FORCE, COMMISSION, REPORT analysis confidence 75%
THE TEXT
…“the coordinator shall conduct the assessment described by that subsection and submit to the executive commissioner a written report”… Bill text , House committee report version (H)
The only output is an assessment and a report with recommendations. Any real change to language access waits on later action. The caption honestly says the bill is an assessment.
[x] NEW FEE, FUND, BOARD OR APPOINTEES analysis confidence 60%
THE TEXT
…“the commission shall employ a language access coordinator”… Bill text , House committee report version (H)
The bill creates a new staff position at the commission to carry out the study.
TOTAL No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source
Sources
Fiscal note · version I · April 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 Mar 13, 2025 Filed Apr 3, 2025 Read first time Apr 3, 2025 Referred to Human Services Apr 15, 2025 Scheduled for public hearing on . . . Apr 15, 2025 Considered in public hearing Apr 15, 2025 Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee Apr 15, 2025 Left pending in committee Apr 29, 2025 Considered in public hearing Apr 29, 2025 Failed to receive affirmative vote in comm. Apr 29, 2025 Vote reconsidered in committee Apr 29, 2025 Reported favorably w/o amendment(s) May 2, 2025 Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator May 5, 2025 Committee report distributed May 5, 2025 Committee report sent to Calendars May 6, 2025 Considered in Calendars May 8, 2025 Placed on General State Calendar May 9, 2025 Read 2nd time May 9, 2025 Passed to engrossment May 9, 2025 Record vote RV#1948 May 9, 2025 Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal May 10, 2025 Read 3rd time May 10, 2025 Postponed 5/12/25 10:00 AM May 12, 2025 Laid out as postponed business May 12, 2025 Passed May 12, 2025 Record vote RV#2160 May 12, 2025 Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal May 12, 2025 Reported engrossed May 12, 2025 Received from the House FILED UNDER GOVERNMENT GROWTH UNDER A CONSERVATIVE BANNER
THE TEXT
…“the commission shall employ a language access coordinator”… Bill text , House committee report version (H)
The bill requires the agency to hire a new coordinator position to run the assessment.
Smells
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 27, 2024 to Oct 17, 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 $21,500.00 Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC $21,500.00
Cash $21,500.00
Paid by others $0.00
Total $21,500.00 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 · Nov 19, 2024 to Aug 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: 100984943, 101006793, 101044547, 101054176, 101068938.
House Democratic Caucus $7,000.00 House Democratic Caucus $7,000.00
Cash $7,000.00
Paid by others $0.00
Total $7,000.00 Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.
Derived recipient stock · on Apr 30, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.
Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.
Sources Derived itemized flow · on Apr 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: 101054176.
Texas Organizing Project Political Action Committee $6,254.03 Texas Organizing Project Political Action Committee $6,254.03
Cash $0.00
Paid by others $6,254.03
Total $6,254.03 Other filed descriptions $4,070.03 printing $2,184.00
Also funds 4 other sitting lawmakers.
Derived recipient stock · Sep 30, 2024 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.
TEC account match.
Sources Derived itemized flow · Oct 31, 2024 to Sep 21, 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: 100984943, 101068938.
Money Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.
× Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC $21,500.00
Cash $21,500.00
Paid by others $0.00
Total $21,500.00 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 · Nov 19, 2024 to Aug 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: 100984943, 101006793, 101044547, 101054176, 101068938.
× House Democratic Caucus $7,000.00
Cash $7,000.00
Paid by others $0.00
Total $7,000.00 Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.
Derived recipient stock · on Apr 30, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.
Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.
Sources Derived itemized flow · on Apr 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: 101054176.
× Texas Organizing Project Political Action Committee $6,254.03
Cash $0.00
Paid by others $6,254.03
Total $6,254.03 Other filed descriptions $4,070.03 printing $2,184.00
Also funds 4 other sitting lawmakers.
Derived recipient stock · Sep 30, 2024 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.
TEC account match.
Sources Derived itemized flow · Oct 31, 2024 to Sep 21, 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: 100984943, 101068938.
Votes2
House May 12, 2025
Yea 77
Nay 64
Present, not voting 3
Absent 3
Excused 3
Names
Davis, A. Yea Louderback Nay Schoolcraft Nay Allen Yea Hernandez Yea Rodríguez Ramos Yea Hopper Nay Orr Nay Button Nay Johnson Yea Martinez Yea Walle Yea Gervin-Hawkins Yea Bumgarner Nay Buckley Nay Money Nay Harrison Nay Cain Nay Landgraf Nay Noble Nay Tepper Nay Fairly Nay Harris Davila Nay Isaac Nay Garcia Hernandez Yea Bell, C. Nay Ward Johnson Yea Cunningham Nay Geren Yea Turner Yea Manuel Yea Morales, C. Yea Ordaz Yea Harris(C) Present, not voting Vasut Nay Hefner Nay Phelan Nay Alders Yea Cook Nay Lowe Nay Spiller Nay Villalobos Yea Paul Nay Bernal Yea McLaughlin Yea Howard Yea Darby Yea Mr. Speaker Present, not voting Morales, E. Yea Campos Yea Troxclair Nay Gámez Yea Zwiener Yea Gates Nay VanDeaver Nay Wu Yea Hinojosa Yea Capriglione Nay Bonnen Nay Dutton Yea Kerwin Nay Hickland Nay Vo Yea Lozano Nay Frank Nay Talarico Yea Lopez, J. Yea Holt Nay Patterson Nay Dean Nay Barry Nay Leach Nay González, J. Yea Shofner Nay Moody Yea Bryant Yea Bucy Yea Lujan Yea McQueeney Nay Smithee Present, not voting Jones, J. Yea Rosenthal Yea Garcia, J. Yea Pierson Nay Bell, K. Nay King Yea Richardson Nay Hull Absent Simmons Excused Garcia, L. Yea Flores Excused DeAyala Nay LaHood Nay Dorazio Nay Perez, M. Yea González, M. Yea Morgan Nay Shaheen Nay Plesa Yea Olcott Nay Schofield Excused Little Nay Meyer Yea Schatzline Nay Collier Yea Longoria Yea Curry Yea Dyson Yea Morales Shaw Yea Cortez Yea Guerra Yea Anchía Yea Romero Yea Lopez, R. Yea Bowers Yea Hayes Absent Raymond Yea Reynolds Yea Guillen Yea Bhojani Yea Harless Nay Thompson Yea Muñoz Yea Slawson Nay Luther Nay Cole Yea Gerdes Nay Kitzman Yea Lambert Yea Toth Nay Lalani Yea Leo Wilson Nay Canales Yea Wilson Yea Meza Yea Hunter Yea Craddick Yea Oliverson Absent 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 2160
HB 4838 was passed by (Record 2160): 77 Yeas, 64 Nays, 3 Present, not voting.
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 77 (published) Nay: 64 (published) Present, not voting: 3 (published) Absent: 3 (derived from named list) Excused: 3 (derived from named list) House journal . Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
House May 9, 2025
Yea 66
Nay 64
Present, not voting 3
Absent 10
Excused 7
Names
Davis, A. Yea Louderback Nay Schoolcraft Nay Allen Yea Hernandez Yea Rodríguez Ramos Absent Hopper Nay Orr Nay Button Yea Johnson Yea Martinez Yea Walle Yea Gervin-Hawkins Yea Bumgarner Nay Buckley Nay Money Nay Harrison Nay Cain Excused Landgraf(C) Present, not voting Noble Yea Tepper Nay Fairly Yea Harris Davila Nay Isaac Yea Garcia Hernandez Yea Bell, C. Nay Ward Johnson Yea Cunningham Nay Geren Absent Turner Yea Manuel Excused Morales, C. Yea Ordaz Yea Harris Nay Vasut Nay Hefner Nay Phelan Nay Alders Nay Cook Nay Lowe Nay Spiller Nay Villalobos Nay Paul Nay Bernal Yea McLaughlin Yea Howard Yea Darby Absent Mr. Speaker Present, not voting Morales, E. Yea Campos Yea Troxclair Nay Gámez Yea Zwiener Yea Gates Yea VanDeaver Nay Wu Yea Hinojosa Yea Capriglione Nay Bonnen Nay Dutton Excused Kerwin Absent Hickland Nay Vo Yea Lozano Excused Frank Nay Talarico Excused Lopez, J. Yea Holt Nay Patterson Nay Dean Nay Barry Nay Leach Nay González, J. Yea Shofner Nay Moody Absent Bryant Yea Bucy Yea Lujan Yea McQueeney Nay Smithee Absent Jones, J. Yea Rosenthal Yea Garcia, J. Yea Pierson Nay Bell, K. Yea King Excused Richardson Nay Hull Absent Simmons Absent Garcia, L. Yea Flores Yea DeAyala Nay LaHood Nay Dorazio Nay Perez, M. Yea González, M. Absent Morgan Nay Shaheen Nay Plesa Yea Olcott Nay Schofield Nay Little Nay Meyer Nay Schatzline Nay Collier Yea Longoria Yea Curry Nay Dyson Nay Morales Shaw Yea Cortez Yea Guerra Yea Anchía Yea Romero Yea Lopez, R. Yea Bowers Yea Hayes Nay Raymond Yea Reynolds Yea Guillen Yea Bhojani Yea Harless Nay Thompson Yea Muñoz Yea Slawson Nay Luther Nay Cole Yea Gerdes Nay Kitzman Yea Lambert Yea Toth Nay Lalani Yea Leo Wilson Absent Canales Yea Wilson Nay Meza Yea Hunter Yea Craddick Nay Oliverson Nay Rose Excused 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. Present, not voting Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.
House journal
Sources
Record 1948
HB 4838 was passed to engrossment by (Record 1948): 66 Yeas, 64 Nays, 3 Present, not voting.
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 66 (published) Nay: 64 (published) Present, not voting: 3 (published) Absent: 10 (derived from named list) Excused: 7 (derived from named list) House journal . Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Witnesses29
For 28
Against 0
On 1
Names
For
Alliance for Safety and Justice and Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice 1 registration Asian Family Support Services of Austin 1 registration Disability Rights TX 1 registration Every Body Texas 1 registration Every texan 1 registration Feeding Texas 1 registration Lone Star Chapter Sierra Club 1 registration National Association of Social Workers- Texas Chapter 1 registration Self 2 registrations Self; Amor Eretno Provider Services 1 registration Self; Council on American-Islamic Relations, Texas 1 registration Self; NAKASEC Action Fund Texas 1 registration Self; Woori Juntos 6 registrations Self; Woori juntos 1 registration Tahirih Justice Center 1 registration Texas CASA 1 registration Texas Council on Family Violence 1 registration Texas Medical Association 1 registration Texas medical association 1 registration Texas Women's Healthcare Coalition 1 registration TexProtects 1 registration United Ways of Texas 1 registration
On
Sources
29 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 significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source
Sources
Fiscal note · version I · April 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 Adversarial review by claude-opus-5-5 at high effort: Smells.
Analysis of text version H by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 22, 2026, against the published rubric .
Sources
Texas House · Filed Mar 13, 2025
05/12/2025 S Received from the House
Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report · Engrossed
Data snapshot Nov 1, 2026 at 1:57 PM CST. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.
Coauthors House committee · Human Services · Committee vote 7 aye, 1 nay, 3 absent · Out of committee
Companion SB 2853 by Menéndez (very similar)
Subjects Health--General
Human Services--General
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION
Text The text as introduced · 229 words
89R15287 AND-F
By: Morales Shaw
H.B. No. 4838
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to conducting an assessment of language accessibility with
respect to certain health and human services programs and 2-1-1
services provided by the Texas Information and Referral Network.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. (a) In this section:
(1) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
Commission.
(2) "Executive commissioner" means the executive
commissioner of the commission.
(b) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
Act, the commission shall employ a language access coordinator to
conduct an assessment of and identify gaps in non-English speakers'
access to the health and human services programs administered by
the commission and 2-1-1 services provided by the Texas Information
and Referral Network.
(c) Not later than the first anniversary of the date the
commission employs a language access coordinator under Subsection
(b) of this section, the coordinator shall conduct the assessment
described by that subsection and submit to the executive
commissioner a written report that:
(1) summarizes the findings of the assessment; and
(2) provides recommendations for increasing
non-English speakers' access to health and human services programs
and 2-1-1 services provided by the Texas Information and Referral
Network throughout this state.
SECTION 2. This Act expires June 1, 2027.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
Monitoring 
