HB 5646: Bill giving in-state tuition to ROTC students

Caption

relating to in-state tuition for certain students in military related programs.

Summary

Members of the corps of cadets at a senior military college qualify too.

This bill requires every public college and university in Texas to charge in-state tuition to any student enrolled in and in good standing with a Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, and to members of the corps of cadets at a senior military college. It touches ROTC students and cadets, including those who would otherwise pay out-of-state rates, and the schools that lose that higher tuition. Starting with the spring 2026 semester, these students pay in-state rates no matter where they come from.

Labels

Labels: BUZZER BEATER. Final vote May 30, 2025: the House concurred in the Senate amendments. 3 days before the session ended Jun 2, 2025.NO AUTOGRAPH. Became law without the governor's signature on Jun 20, 2025.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: 142 WORDS. The bill as filed runs 142 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-HB5646 · 2025-03-14

SOLD BY

Rep. Terry M. WilsonRHouse 20

ITEM

relating to in-state tuition for certain students in military related programs.

WHAT IT DOES

Members of the corps of cadets at a senior military college qualify too.

This bill requires every public college and university in Texas to charge in-state tuition to any student enrolled in and in good standing with a Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, and to members of the corps of cadets at a senior military college. It touches ROTC students and cadets, including those who would otherwise pay out-of-state rates, and the schools that lose that higher tuition. Starting with the spring 2026 semester, these students pay in-state rates no matter where they come from.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version F · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version F · May 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

Mar 14, 2025Filed
Apr 7, 2025Read first time
Apr 7, 2025Referred to Higher Education
Apr 22, 2025Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
Apr 22, 2025Considered in public hearing
Apr 22, 2025Committee substitute considered in committee
Apr 22, 2025Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
Apr 22, 2025Left pending in committee
Apr 24, 2025Considered in formal meeting
Apr 24, 2025Committee substitute considered in committee
Apr 24, 2025Reported favorably as substituted
Apr 28, 2025Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
Apr 28, 2025Committee report distributed
Apr 29, 2025Committee report sent to Calendars
May 2, 2025Considered in Calendars
May 6, 2025Placed on General State Calendar
May 7, 2025Read 2nd time
May 7, 2025Amended 1-Wilson
May 7, 2025Passed to engrossment as amended
May 7, 2025Record vote RV#1655
May 7, 2025Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
May 8, 2025Read 3rd time
May 8, 2025Passed
May 8, 2025Record vote RV#1769
May 8, 2025Reported engrossed
May 8, 2025Received from the House
May 9, 2025Read first time
May 9, 2025Referred to Vet Affairs
May 22, 2025Posting rule suspended
May 23, 2025Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
May 23, 2025Considered in public hearing
May 23, 2025Testimony taken in committee
May 23, 2025Left pending in committee
May 25, 2025Considered in public hearing
May 25, 2025Vote taken in committee
May 26, 2025Reported favorably w/o amendments
May 26, 2025Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
May 26, 2025Committee report printed and distributed
May 27, 2025Co-sponsor authorized
May 27, 2025Placed on intent calendar
May 28, 2025Co-sponsor authorized
May 28, 2025Rules suspended-Regular order of business
May 28, 2025Read 2nd time
May 28, 2025Amendment(s) offered FA1 Hall
May 28, 2025Amended
May 28, 2025Vote recorded in Journal
May 28, 2025Passed to 3rd reading as amended
May 28, 2025Vote recorded in Journal
May 28, 2025Three day rule suspended
May 28, 2025Record vote
May 28, 2025Read 3rd time
May 28, 2025Passed
May 28, 2025Record vote
May 29, 2025Senate passage as amended reported
May 29, 2025Senate Amendments distributed
May 29, 2025Senate Amendments Analysis distributed
May 30, 2025House concurs in Senate amendment(s)
May 30, 2025Record vote RV#4066
May 30, 2025Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
May 30, 2025Text of Senate Amendment(s)
May 30, 2025House concurs in Senate amendment(s)-reported
May 31, 2025Reported enrolled
Jun 1, 2025Signed in the House
Jun 1, 2025Signed in the Senate
Jun 2, 2025Sent to the Governor
Jun 20, 2025Filed without the Governor's signature
Jun 20, 2025Effective immediately

FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 147 yea · 0 nay

Senate · 30 yea · 1 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 8, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · May 28, 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

Terry M. Wilson

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$414K Texas 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.

Votes6

House May 30, 2025

Yea: 136
Nay: 1
Present, not voting: 2
Absent: 5
Excused: 6

Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 4066

Representative Wilson moved to concur in the senate amendments to HB 5646. The motion to concur in the senate amendments to HB 5646 prevailed by (Record 4066): 136 Yeas, 1 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

Yea: 136 (published)
Nay: 1 (published)
Present, not voting: 2 (published)
Absent: 5 (derived from named list)
Excused: 6 (derived from named list)

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

Senate May 28, 2025

Yea: 30
Nay: 1
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: Not printed
Excused: Not printed

Names

JohnsonNay

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

Senate journal

Names were not printed for yea. Only the named positions are included in member records.

Sources

The bill was read third time and was passed by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.

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

Yea: 30 (published)
Nay: 1 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: Not printed
Excused: Not printed

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

Senate May 28, 2025

Yea: 29
Nay: 2
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: 0
Excused: 0

Names

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

Senate journal

Sources

Senator Hall moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that HB 5646 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 2.

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

Yea: 29 (published)
Nay: 2 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

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

Senate May 28, 2025

Yea: Not printed
Nay: Not printed
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: Not printed
Excused: Not printed

Names

JohnsonNay

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

Senate journal

Names were not printed for yea. Only the named positions are included in member records.

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

Sources

HB 5646 as amended 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 May 8, 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 1769

HB 5646 was passed by (Record 1769): 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.

House May 7, 2025

Yea: 141
Nay: 0
Present, not voting: 2
Absent: 4
Excused: 3

Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 1655

CSHB 5646, as amended, was passed to engrossment by (Record 1655): 141 Yeas, 0 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

Yea: 141 (published)
Nay: 0 (published)
Present, not voting: 2 (published)
Absent: 4 (derived from named list)
Excused: 3 (derived from named list)

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

Witnesses7

For: 6
Against: 0
On: 1

Names

For

Alamo Colleges District1 registration
Self2 registrations
Self; Texas Coalition of Veterans Organizations1 registration
Self; VFW Dept of Texas2 registrations

On

Texas higher education coordinating 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 significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version F · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version F · May 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 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.

Verdict: No flags

The receipt

SOLD BY

ITEM

WHAT IT DOES

CHARGES

TOTAL

HISTORY

SIGNED FOR BY

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

Texas Conservative Majority PAC

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

Texas Conservative Majority PAC

House May 30, 2025

Senate May 28, 2025

Senate May 28, 2025

Senate May 28, 2025

House May 8, 2025

House May 7, 2025

For

On