Monitoring the Session

SB 1025

Bettencourt’s bill puts tax hikes in capital letters on ballots

Became law

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Sen. Paul BettencourtRSenate 7

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 text of ballot propositions that increase taxes.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

“THIS IS A TAX INCREASE,” same font size. No small print!

The bill requires any ballot proposition asking voters to impose or raise a tax to state the amount or maximum rate and to print "THIS IS A TAX INCREASE" in capital letters in the same font size as the rest of the proposition. Propositions to cut a tax must state the amount of the reduction or the rate sought, and all tax propositions must otherwise be printed in mixed-case letters. It touches every local government and taxing entity that puts a tax question on the ballot, starting with elections ordered on or after September 1, 2025.

Labels

Labels: INSTANT LAW. Took effect immediately, on May 24, 2025. 833 of the 1,185 graded 89R laws took effect Sep 1, 2025 (derived from the bill histories, snapshot Oct 19, 2026).DO-OVER. Reworked text of a bill filed before that died: 88R SB 1252 (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.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB1025 · 2025-01-30

SOLD BY

Sen. Paul BettencourtRSenate 7

ITEM

relating to the text of ballot propositions that increase taxes.

WHAT IT DOES

“THIS IS A TAX INCREASE,” same font size. No small print!

The bill requires any ballot proposition asking voters to impose or raise a tax to state the amount or maximum rate and to print "THIS IS A TAX INCREASE" in capital letters in the same font size as the rest of the proposition. Propositions to cut a tax must state the amount of the reduction or the rate sought, and all tax propositions must otherwise be printed in mixed-case letters. It touches every local government and taxing entity that puts a tax question on the ballot, starting with elections ordered on or after September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · April 25, 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. Received by the Secretary of the Senate
  2. Filed
  3. Read first time
  4. Referred to Local Government
  5. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  6. Considered in public hearing
  7. Testimony taken in committee
  8. Left pending in committee
  9. Considered in public hearing
  10. Vote taken in committee
  11. Reported favorably w/o amendments
  12. Committee report printed and distributed
  13. Placed on intent calendar
  14. Rules suspended-Regular order of business
  15. Record vote
  16. Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
  17. Record vote
  18. Three day rule suspended
  19. Record vote
  20. Read 3rd time
  21. Passed
  22. Record vote
  23. Reported engrossed
  24. Received from the Senate
  25. Read first time
  26. Referred to Ways & Means
  27. Considered in formal meeting
  28. Committee substitute considered in committee
  29. Reported favorably as substituted
  30. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  31. Committee report distributed
  32. Committee report sent to Calendars
  33. Laid out in lieu of companion HB 5446
  34. Read 2nd time
  35. Point of order withdrawn Rule 8, Section 1(a)(1)
  36. Passed to 3rd reading
  37. Record vote RV#1666
  38. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  39. Read 3rd time
  40. Passed
  41. Record vote RV#1751
  42. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  43. House passage as amended reported
  44. House amendment(s) laid before the Senate
  45. Read
  46. Senate concurs in House amendment(s)
  47. Record vote
  48. Senate concurs in House amendment(s)-reported
  49. Reported enrolled
  50. Signed in the Senate
  51. Signed in the House
  52. Sent to the Governor
  53. Signed by the Governor
  54. Effective immediately
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 102 yea · 45 nay

Senate · 23 yea · 6 nay

Sources

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

Senate: Final passage · Mar 20, 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

Paul Bettencourt

Donors

Donors report through Friends of Paul Bettencourt.

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 Jun 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.

Money

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

Votes7

Senate May 12, 2025

Yea
25
Nay
5
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
0
Excused
1
Names

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

Senate journal

Sources

Senator Bettencourt moved to concur in the House amendment to SB 1025. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays 5.

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

  • Yea: 25 (published)
  • Nay: 5 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 1 (derived from named list)

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

House May 8, 2025

Yea
102
Nay
45
Present, not voting
2
Absent
1
Excused
0
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 1751

SB 1025 was passed by (Record 1751): 102 Yeas, 45 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 102 (published)
  • Nay: 45 (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
83
Nay
44
Present, not voting
2
Absent
12
Excused
9
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 1666

SB 1025 was passed to third reading by (Record 1666): 83 Yeas, 44 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 83 (published)
  • Nay: 44 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 12 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 9 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Mar 20, 2025

Yea
23
Nay
6
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
0
Excused
2
Names

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

Senate journal

Sources

The bill was read third time and was passed by the following vote: Yeas 23, Nays 6.

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

  • Yea: 23 (published)
  • Nay: 6 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 2 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Mar 20, 2025

Yea
25
Nay
4
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
0
Excused
2
Names

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

Senate journal

Sources

Senator Bettencourt moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 1025 be placed on its third reading and final passage: SB 1025, Relating to the text of ballot propositions that increase taxes. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays 4.

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

  • Yea: 25 (published)
  • Nay: 4 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 2 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Mar 20, 2025

Yea
23
Nay
6
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
0
Excused
2
Names

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

Senate journal

Sources

The bill was read second time and was passed to engrossment by the following vote: Yeas 23, Nays 6. (Same as previous roll call)

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

  • Yea: 23 (published)
  • Nay: 6 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 2 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Mar 20, 2025

Yea
23
Nay
6
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
0
Excused
2
Names

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

Senate journal

Sources

Senator Bettencourt moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up for consideration SB 1025 at this time on its second reading: SB 1025, Relating to the text of ballot propositions that increase taxes. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 23, Nays 6.

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

  • Yea: 23 (published)
  • Nay: 6 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 2 (derived from named list)

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

Witnesses11
For
10
Against
1
On
0
Names

For

  • Association of Electric Companies of Texas, Inc (AECT)1 registration
  • National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)1 registration
  • Self1 registration
  • Self; Americans for prosperity1 registration
  • Self; True texas project1 registration
  • Texas Apartment Association1 registration
  • Texas Public Policy Foundation1 registration
  • Texas REALTORS1 registration
  • Texas Realtors1 registration
  • Texas Taxpayers and Research Association1 registration

Against

  • City of McKinney1 registration
Sources

11 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.

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 H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · April 25, 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 SB 1252

by Sen. Bettencourt, same lead author · Did not pass · reworked

Introduced text

Last action, May 22, 2023: Postponed

Relating to the wording of ballot propositions for bond elections.

Caption, 88R bill history

Sources

Texas Senate · Filed Jan 30, 2025

05/24/2025 E Effective immediately

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · Senate Committee Report · Engrossed · House Committee Report · Enrolled

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

Sponsors
Ellen TroxclairRHouse 19

House committee · Ways & Means · Committee vote 11 aye, 0 nay, 2 absent · Out of committee

Senate committee · Local Government · Committee vote 5 aye, 1 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Companion

HB 5446 by Troxclair (identical)

Subjects

Elections--General

Taxation--Property-Tax Rate

Text

The text as introduced · 242 words

89R1903 PRL-D

By: Bettencourt
S.B. No. 1025

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the text of ballot propositions that increase taxes.

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

SECTION 1. Section 52.072(e), Election Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(e) In addition to any other requirement imposed by law for

a proposition, including a provision prescribing the proposition

language, a proposition submitted to the voters for approval of the

imposition, increase, or reduction of a tax shall , except as

otherwise required by this subsection, be printed in mixed-case

typewritten letters and [ specifically state ], as applicable:

(1) with respect to a proposition that only seeks

voter approval of the imposition or increase of a tax :

(A) state [ , ] the amount of or maximum tax rate of

the tax or tax increase for which approval is sought; and

(B) include, in capital typewritten letters of

the same font size as the rest of the proposition, the statement

"THIS IS A TAX INCREASE"; or

(2) with respect to a proposition that only seeks

voter approval of the reduction of a tax, state the amount of tax

rate reduction or the tax rate for which approval is sought.

SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to

an election ordered on or after the effective date of this Act.

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