Monitoring the Session

HB 5180

bill letting students pick the old name on their diploma

Became law

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Terry M. WilsonRHouse 20

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 diploma designation of an institution of higher education.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

College changes its name, students choose which one they get.

When a Texas public college or university merges or changes its name, the bill requires it to let students choose whether their diploma shows the new name or the old one. It covers every student enrolled at the time of the name change at any institution of higher education under state law. Starting with the 2025-2026 school year, affected students get a choice of school name on their diploma instead of automatically getting the new name.

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).QUICK READ: 135 WORDS. The bill as filed runs 135 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-HB5180 · 2025-03-14

SOLD BY

Rep. Terry M. WilsonRHouse 20

ITEM

relating to the diploma designation of an institution of higher education.

WHAT IT DOES

College changes its name, students choose which one they get.

When a Texas public college or university merges or changes its name, the bill requires it to let students choose whether their diploma shows the new name or the old one. It covers every student enrolled at the time of the name change at any institution of higher education under state law. Starting with the 2025-2026 school year, affected students get a choice of school name on their diploma instead of automatically getting the new name.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 13, 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 Higher Education
  4. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  5. Considered in public hearing
  6. Committee substitute considered in committee
  7. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
  8. Left pending in committee
  9. Considered in formal meeting
  10. Committee substitute considered in committee
  11. Reported favorably as substituted
  12. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  13. Committee report distributed
  14. Committee report sent to Calendars
  15. Considered in Calendars
  16. Placed on General State Calendar
  17. Read 2nd time
  18. Passed to engrossment
  19. Read 3rd time
  20. Passed
  21. Record vote RV#1459
  22. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  23. Reported engrossed
  24. Received from the House
  25. Read first time
  26. Referred to Education K-16
  27. Considered in public hearing
  28. Vote taken in committee
  29. Reported favorably w/o amendments
  30. Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
  31. Committee report printed and distributed
  32. Placed on local & uncontested calendar
  33. Laid before the Senate
  34. Read 2nd time & passed to 3rd reading
  35. Vote recorded in Journal
  36. Three day rule suspended
  37. Record vote
  38. Read 3rd time
  39. Passed
  40. Record vote
  41. Senate passage reported
  42. Reported enrolled
  43. Signed in the House
  44. Signed in the Senate
  45. Sent to the Governor
  46. Signed by the Governor
  47. Effective immediately
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 148 yea · 0 nay

Senate · 31 yea · 0 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 6, 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

Terry M. Wilson

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$414KTexas Conservative Majority PAC$231KKenneth Mongold$25,000

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 29, 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$413,658.18

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$413,658.18

Cash
$35,000.00
Paid by others
$378,658.18
Total
$413,658.18
mail $190,451.68advertising $178,456.50polling $8,750.00Other filed descriptions $1,000.00

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 27, 2025 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.

Report IDs: 101007854, 101030352, 101067580, 101071564.

Texas Conservative Majority PAC$231,075.00

Texas Conservative Majority PAC

$231,075.00

Cash
$50,000.00
Paid by others
$181,075.00
Total
$231,075.00
canvassing $157,125.00polling $23,950.00

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 25, 2026 to Oct 18, 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: 101067580, 101071564.

Kenneth Mongold$25,000.00
Money

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

×

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$413,658.18

Cash
$35,000.00
Paid by others
$378,658.18
Total
$413,658.18
mail $190,451.68advertising $178,456.50polling $8,750.00Other filed descriptions $1,000.00

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 27, 2025 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.

Report IDs: 101007854, 101030352, 101067580, 101071564.

×

Texas Conservative Majority PAC

$231,075.00

Cash
$50,000.00
Paid by others
$181,075.00
Total
$231,075.00
canvassing $157,125.00polling $23,950.00

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 25, 2026 to Oct 18, 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: 101067580, 101071564.

Votes4

Senate May 25, 2025

Final passage

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.

The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to third reading, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records final passage. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Sources

HB 5180 (Creighton) Relating to the issuance of a diploma to a student graduating from a public institution of higher education that has undergone a merger, acquisition, or name change. (viva voce vote) (31-0) (31-0)

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

Suspension of the three-day rule

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.

The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to third reading, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records suspension of the three-day rule. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Sources

HB 5180 (Creighton) Relating to the issuance of a diploma to a student graduating from a public institution of higher education that has undergone a merger, acquisition, or name change. (viva voce vote) (31-0) (31-0)

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

Passage to third reading

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.

The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to third reading, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records passage to third reading. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Voice vote. No numeric tally or individual yeas are inferred.

Sources

HB 5180 (Creighton) Relating to the issuance of a diploma to a student graduating from a public institution of higher education that has undergone a merger, acquisition, or name change. (viva voce vote) (31-0) (31-0)

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 6, 2025

Yea
148
Nay
0
Present, not voting
1
Absent
1
Excused
0
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 1459

HB 5180 was passed by (Record 1459): 148 Yeas, 0 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 148 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 1 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

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

Witnesses2
For
2
Against
0
On
0
Names

For

  • Self2 registrations
Sources

2 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 E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 13, 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 14, 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.

Sponsors
Brandon CreightonRSenate 4

House committee · Higher Education · Committee vote 10 aye, 0 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Senate committee · Education K-16 · Committee vote 11 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Companion

SB 2815 by Creighton (identical)

Subjects

Education--Higher--General

Education--Higher--Institutions & Programs

Text

The text as introduced · 135 words

By: Wilson
H.B. No. 5180

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the diploma designation of an institution of higher

education.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 51.997 to read as follows:

Sec. 51.997. DIPLOMA DESIGNATION IN THE CASE OF A MERGER.

If an institution of higher education, as defined by Section

61.003, Education Code, merges or changes names, the institution

shall offer each student enrolled at the time of the name change the

option to receive a diploma with the new institution name or the

former institution name.

SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this act apply

beginning with the 2025-2026 academic year.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.