SB 1035: farmers can sue local governments over right-to-farm violations

Caption

relating to equitable relief from the enforcement of certain governmental requirements that affect agricultural operations.

Caption from analyzed text · version H.

Summary

Win, and you recover court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.

The bill lets a person sue a city, county or other local government that enforces a rule in violation of the state's right-to-farm chapter, asking a court to declare the rule unlawful and block its enforcement. It touches farmers, ranchers and others hurt by local rules, and the local governments that enforce them. A person who wins can recover court costs and reasonable attorney's fees, and this applies to claims that arise on or after the bill takes effect.

Labels

Labels: INSTANT LAW. Took effect immediately, on May 19, 2025. 833 of the 1,185 graded 89R laws took effect Sep 1, 2025 (derived from the bill histories, snapshot Oct 19, 2026).

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB1035 · 2025-01-31

SOLD BY

Sen. Kevin SparksRSenate 31

Sen. Charles PerryRSenate 28

+ 3 coauthors

ITEM

relating to equitable relief from the enforcement of certain governmental requirements that affect agricultural operations.

WHAT IT DOES

Win, and you recover court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.

The bill lets a person sue a city, county or other local government that enforces a rule in violation of the state's right-to-farm chapter, asking a court to declare the rule unlawful and block its enforcement. It touches farmers, ranchers and others hurt by local rules, and the local governments that enforce them. A person who wins can recover court costs and reasonable attorney's fees, and this applies to claims that arise on or after the bill takes effect.

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 1, 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

Jan 31, 2025Received by the Secretary of the Senate
Jan 31, 2025Filed
Feb 12, 2025Co-author authorized
Feb 24, 2025Read first time
Feb 24, 2025Referred to Water, Agriculture, & Rural Affairs
Mar 31, 2025Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
Mar 31, 2025Considered in public hearing
Mar 31, 2025Testimony taken in committee
Mar 31, 2025Vote taken in committee
Mar 31, 2025Reported favorably w/o amendments
Mar 31, 2025Committee report printed and distributed
Apr 1, 2025Co-author authorized
Apr 2, 2025Placed on intent calendar
Apr 7, 2025Co-author authorized
Apr 7, 2025Rules suspended-Regular order of business
Apr 7, 2025Vote recorded in Journal
Apr 7, 2025Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
Apr 7, 2025Vote recorded in Journal
Apr 7, 2025Three day rule suspended
Apr 7, 2025Record vote
Apr 7, 2025Read 3rd time
Apr 7, 2025Passed
Apr 7, 2025Record vote
Apr 7, 2025Reported engrossed
Apr 8, 2025Received from the Senate
Apr 17, 2025Read first time
Apr 17, 2025Referred to Agriculture & Livestock
Apr 22, 2025Considered in public hearing
Apr 22, 2025Committee substitute considered in committee
Apr 22, 2025Reported favorably as substituted
Apr 28, 2025Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
Apr 28, 2025Committee report distributed
Apr 29, 2025Committee report sent to Calendars
Apr 29, 2025Laid out in lieu of companion HB 1964
Apr 29, 2025Read 2nd time
Apr 29, 2025Amended 1-Spiller
Apr 29, 2025Passed to 3rd reading as amended
Apr 29, 2025Record vote RV#864
Apr 29, 2025Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
Apr 30, 2025Read 3rd time
Apr 30, 2025Passed
Apr 30, 2025Record vote RV#946
Apr 30, 2025House passage as amended reported
May 5, 2025House amendment(s) laid before the Senate
May 5, 2025Read
May 5, 2025Senate concurs in House amendment(s)
May 5, 2025Record vote
May 5, 2025Senate concurs in House amendment(s)-reported
May 5, 2025Reported enrolled
May 7, 2025Signed in the Senate
May 7, 2025Signed in the House
May 7, 2025Sent to the Governor
May 19, 2025Signed by the Governor
May 19, 2025Effective immediately

FILED UNDER

SPEECH AND LAWFARE

THE TEXT

“A person who prevails in an action under this section may recover court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.”

Bill text, House committee report version (H)

The bill creates a new lawsuit against local governments with one-way fee recovery for winning plaintiffs who challenge enforcement against agricultural operations.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 140 yea · 2 nay

Senate · 28 yea · 1 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · Apr 30, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · Apr 7, 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

Kevin Sparks

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$60KKyle & Jamie Stallings$25,000Tim Dunn$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 · Jul 25, 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$60,000.00

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$60,000.00

Cash: $60,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $60,000.00

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 · Oct 15, 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.

Report IDs: 101012623, 101029380, 101072732.

Kyle & Jamie Stallings$25,000.00

Tim Dunn$25,000.00

Money

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

×

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$60,000.00

Cash: $60,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $60,000.00

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 · Oct 15, 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.

Report IDs: 101012623, 101029380, 101072732.

Votes6

Senate May 5, 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 Sparks moved to concur in the House amendments to SB 1035. 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.

House Apr 30, 2025

Yea: 140
Nay: 2
Present, not voting: 2
Absent: 0
Excused: 6

Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 946

SB 1035 was passed by (Record 946): 140 Yeas, 2 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

Yea: 140 (published)
Nay: 2 (published)
Present, not voting: 2 (published)
Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
Excused: 6 (derived from named list)

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

House Apr 29, 2025

Yea: 144
Nay: 5
Present, not voting: 1
Absent: 0
Excused: 0

Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 864

SB 1035, as amended, was passed to third reading by (Record 864): 144 Yeas, 5 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

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

Yea: 144 (published)
Nay: 5 (published)
Present, not voting: 1 (published)
Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
Excused: 0 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 7, 2025

Yea: 28
Nay: 1
Present, not voting: 1
Absent: 0
Excused: 1

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 28, Nays 1, Present-not voting 1. (Same as previous roll call)

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

Yea: 28 (published)
Nay: 1 (published)
Present, not voting: 1 (published)
Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
Excused: 1 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 7, 2025

Yea: 28
Nay: 1
Present, not voting: 1
Absent: 0
Excused: 1

Names

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

Senate journal

Sources

Senator Sparks moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 1035 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 28, Nays 1, Present-not voting 1.

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

Yea: 28 (published)
Nay: 1 (published)
Present, not voting: 1 (published)
Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
Excused: 1 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 7, 2025

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

Names

MilesPresent, not voting
JohnsonNay
KingExcused

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

Senator Sparks moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up for consideration SB 1035 at this time on its second reading: SB 1035, Relating to equitable relief from the enforcement of certain governmental requirements that affect agricultural operations. The motion prevailed. Senator Johnson asked to be recorded as voting "Nay" on suspension of the regular order of business. Senator Miles asked to be recorded as "Present-not voting" on suspension of the regular order of business. The bill was read second time and was passed to engrossment 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: 1 (derived from named list)

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

Witnesses8

For: 8
Against: 0
On: 0

Names

For

Self; South Texans’ Property Rights Association1 registration
Self; Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association1 registration
Texas Beekeepers Association1 registration
Texas Corn Producers Association1 registration
Texas Farm Bureau1 registration
Texas Pork Producers Association1 registration
Texas Poultry Federation1 registration
Texas Realtors1 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.

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 1, 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 H by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 22, 2026, against the published rubric.

Sources

Texas Senate · Filed Jan 31, 2025

05/19/2025 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.

Coauthors

César BlancoDSenate 29

Pete FloresRSenate 24

Adam HinojosaRSenate 27

Companion

HB 1964 by Spiller (identical)

Subjects

Agriculture

City Government--Land Use & Zoning

Civil Remedies & Liabilities

ATTORNEY'S FEES

Text

The text as introduced · 202 words

89R4596 MP-D

By: Sparks, Perry
S.B. No. 1035

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to equitable relief from the enforcement of certain

governmental requirements that affect agricultural operations.

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 251, Agriculture Code, is amended by

adding Section 251.009 to read as follows:

Sec. 251.009. RIGHT OF ACTION. (a) If a political

subdivision enforces a governmental requirement in violation of

this chapter, a person aggrieved by the violation may bring an

action against the political subdivision to obtain declaratory or

injunctive relief to block the enforcement of the governmental

requirement.

(b) A person who prevails in an action under this section

may recover court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

SECTION 2. Section 251.009, Agriculture Code, as added by

this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after

the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

Verdict: No flags

The receipt

SOLD BY

ITEM

WHAT IT DOES

CHARGES

TOTAL

HISTORY

SIGNED FOR BY

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

Senate May 5, 2025

House Apr 30, 2025

House Apr 29, 2025

Senate Apr 7, 2025

Senate Apr 7, 2025

Senate Apr 7, 2025

For

Companion