Monitoring the Session

HB 993

bill gives cities 45 days on building permits

Did not pass

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Steve TothRHouse 15

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 time for processing a municipal building permit application.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Grant, deny or explain the delay in writing.

The bill gives Texas cities 45 days after a building permit application is filed to grant it, deny it, send the applicant a written explanation of the delay, or, for commercial permits, sign a written deadline agreement. If a city fails to follow any part of these timing rules, it cannot collect permit fees on that application and must refund any fees already paid. Cities also cannot deny a permit just because they ran out of time, and cannot make applicants waive these rules. The new rules apply to applications filed on or after September 1, 2025.

Labels

Labels: ZOMBIE BILL. Died 2 times: 88R HB 3826 (Did not pass) and this bill (Did not pass). Checked against 88R only.DO-OVER. Reworked text of a bill filed before that died: 88R HB 3826 (Did not pass). Filed in 2 sessions, counting this one. Checked against 88R only.TRY NO. 2. Filed in 2 sessions: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.STALLED AFTER COMMITTEE. Voted out of the House Land & Resource Management committee 7-0 on Apr 24, 2025. Placed on the General State Calendar on May 13, 2025. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB993 · 2024-11-12

SOLD BY

Rep. Steve TothRHouse 15

ITEM

relating to the time for processing a municipal building permit application.

WHAT IT DOES

Grant, deny or explain the delay in writing.

The bill gives Texas cities 45 days after a building permit application is filed to grant it, deny it, send the applicant a written explanation of the delay, or, for commercial permits, sign a written deadline agreement. If a city fails to follow any part of these timing rules, it cannot collect permit fees on that application and must refund any fees already paid. Cities also cannot deny a permit just because they ran out of time, and cannot make applicants waive these rules. The new rules apply to applications filed on or after September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 11, 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 Land & Resource Management
  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 public hearing
  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.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Steve Toth

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$33KMichael Till$20,000Don Dyer$10,000

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 · Jul 1, 2024 to Mar 25, 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$32,500.00

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$32,500.00

Cash
$32,500.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$32,500.00

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 · Jul 10, 2024 to Jun 27, 2025. 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: 101005773, 101012329.

Michael Till$20,000.00
Don Dyer$10,000.00
Money

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

×

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$32,500.00

Cash
$32,500.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$32,500.00

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 · Jul 10, 2024 to Jun 27, 2025. 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: 101005773, 101012329.

Votes

No floor vote loaded for this bill.

Witnesses8
For
6
Against
2
On
0
Names

For

  • Earl & Associates, S&K Properties, LLC1 registration
  • Self; Reason Foundation1 registration
  • Texas Apartment Association1 registration
  • Texas Association of Builders1 registration
  • Texas assopciation of Builders1 registration
  • Texas Land Developers Association1 registration

Against

  • City of Irving1 registration
  • Texas Municipal League1 registration
Sources

8 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 11, 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.

FILED BEFORE

Filed 2 times: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.

88R HB 3826

by Rep. Toth, same lead author · Did not pass · reworked

Introduced text

Last action, May 11, 2023: Postponed

Relating to the time for processing a municipal building permit application.

Caption, 88R bill history

Sources

Texas House · Filed Nov 12, 2024

05/13/2025 H Placed on General State Calendar

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

House committee · Land & Resource Management · Committee vote 7 aye, 0 nay, 2 absent · Out of committee

Subjects

City Government--Land Use & Zoning

PERMITS

Text

The text as introduced · 324 words

By: Toth
H.B. No. 993

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the time for processing a municipal building permit

application.

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

SECTION 1. Section 214.904, Local Government Code, is

amended by amending Subsections (b) and (d) and adding Subsections

(e) and (f) to read as follows:

(b) Not later than the 45th day after the date an

application for a permit is submitted, the municipality must:

(1) grant or deny the permit;

(2) provide written notice to the applicant stating

the reasons why the municipality has been unable to grant or deny

the permit application in the time required by this subsection ; or

(3) for a commercial building permit only, reach a

written agreement with the applicant providing for a deadline for

granting or denying the permit.

(d) If a municipality fails to comply with this section

[ grant or deny a permit application in the time required by

Subsection (c) or by an agreement under Subsection (b)(3) ], the

municipality:

(1) may not collect any permit fees associated with

the application; and

(2) shall refund to the applicant any permit fees

associated with the application that have been collected.

(e) A municipality may not:

(1) deny a permit solely because the municipality is

unable to comply with this section; or

(2) require an applicant to waive the requirements of

this section.

(f) In this section, "commercial" has the meaning assigned

by Section 214.211.

SECTION 2. Section 214.904, Local Government Code, as

amended by this Act, applies only to a municipal building permit

application that is submitted on or after the effective date of this

Act. An application submitted before the effective date of this Act

is governed by the law in effect on the date the application was

submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that

purpose.

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