Monitoring the Session

SB 1494

bill reopening the window to move local elections to November

Became law

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Sen. Nathan JohnsonDSenate 16

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 authority of certain political subdivisions to change the date of their general elections.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Deadline moves from December 31, 2016 to December 31, 2026.

The bill reopens a window that let local governments move their regular officer elections to the November uniform election date, pushing the deadline from December 31, 2016 to December 31, 2026. It touches the governing bodies of political subdivisions such as cities, school districts and special districts, but not counties or municipal utility districts, that now hold elections on another date. On the ground, those local boards can choose to shift their elections to November, when turnout is usually higher, any time before the end of 2026.

Labels

Labels: BUZZER BEATER. Final vote May 31, 2025: the Senate concurred in the House amendments. 2 days before the session ended Jun 2, 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).

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB1494 · 2025-02-20

SOLD BY

Sen. Nathan JohnsonDSenate 16 Sen. Royce WestDSenate 23

ITEM

relating to the authority of certain political subdivisions to change the date of their general elections.

WHAT IT DOES

Deadline moves from December 31, 2016 to December 31, 2026.

The bill reopens a window that let local governments move their regular officer elections to the November uniform election date, pushing the deadline from December 31, 2016 to December 31, 2026. It touches the governing bodies of political subdivisions such as cities, school districts and special districts, but not counties or municipal utility districts, that now hold elections on another date. On the ground, those local boards can choose to shift their elections to November, when turnout is usually higher, any time before the end of 2026.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · May 22, 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 State Affairs
  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. Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
  13. Committee report printed and distributed
  14. Placed on intent calendar
  15. Placed on local & uncontested calendar
  16. Laid before the Senate
  17. Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
  18. Vote recorded in Journal
  19. Three day rule suspended
  20. Record vote
  21. Read 3rd time
  22. Passed
  23. Record vote
  24. Reported engrossed
  25. Received from the Senate
  26. Read first time
  27. Referred to Elections
  28. Considered in formal meeting
  29. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  30. Considered in formal meeting
  31. Vote reconsidered in committee
  32. Committee substitute considered in committee
  33. Reported favorably as substituted
  34. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  35. Committee report distributed
  36. Committee report sent to Calendars
  37. Considered in Calendars
  38. Placed on General State Calendar
  39. Read 2nd time
  40. Passed to 3rd reading
  41. Record vote RV#3758
  42. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  43. Read 3rd time
  44. Passed
  45. Record vote RV#3871
  46. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  47. House passage as amended reported
  48. House amendment(s) laid before the Senate
  49. Read
  50. Senate concurs in House amendment(s)
  51. Record vote
  52. Senate concurs in House amendment(s)-reported
  53. Reported enrolled
  54. Signed in the Senate
  55. Signed in the House
  56. Sent to the Governor
  57. Signed by the Governor
  58. Effective immediately
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 129 yea · 12 nay

Senate · 30 yea · 0 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 28, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · Apr 10, 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

Nathan Johnson

Donors

Daniel Cocanougher$250,000Texas Sands PAC$130KMarguerite Hoffman$125,000

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 Oct 24, 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.

Daniel Cocanougher$250,000.00
Texas Sands PAC$129,500.00

Texas Sands PAC

$129,500.00

Cash
$129,500.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$129,500.00

Also funds 121 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 3, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Nov 27, 2024 to May 12, 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: 100990378, 101033698, 101040111, 101052272.

Marguerite Hoffman$125,000.00
Money

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

×

Texas Sands PAC

$129,500.00

Cash
$129,500.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$129,500.00

Also funds 121 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 3, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Nov 27, 2024 to May 12, 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: 100990378, 101033698, 101040111, 101052272.

Votes6

Senate May 31, 2025

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.

Sources

Senator Johnson moved to concur in the House amendment to SB 1494. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 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.

House May 28, 2025

Yea
129
Nay
12
Present, not voting
1
Absent
1
Excused
7
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3871

SB 1494 was passed by (Record 3871): 129 Yeas, 12 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 129 (published)
  • Nay: 12 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 1 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 7 (derived from named list)

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

House May 27, 2025

Yea
133
Nay
8
Present, not voting
1
Absent
6
Excused
2
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3758

CSSB 1494 was passed to third reading by (Record 3758): 133 Yeas, 8 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 133 (published)
  • Nay: 8 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 6 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 2 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 10, 2025

Final passage

Yea
30
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 engrossment, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records final passage. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Sources

SB 1494 (Johnson, West) Relating to the authority of certain political subdivisions to change the date of their general elections. (viva voce vote) (30-0) (30-0)

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

  • Yea: 30 (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 Apr 10, 2025

Suspension of the three-day rule

Yea
30
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 engrossment, 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

SB 1494 (Johnson, West) Relating to the authority of certain political subdivisions to change the date of their general elections. (viva voce vote) (30-0) (30-0)

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

  • Yea: 30 (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 Apr 10, 2025

Passage to engrossment

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 engrossment, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records passage to engrossment. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

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

Sources

SB 1494 (Johnson, West) Relating to the authority of certain political subdivisions to change the date of their general elections. (viva voce vote) (30-0) (30-0)

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.

Witnesses7
For
5
Against
2
On
0
Names

For

  • Self1 registration
  • Self; The City of Dallas1 registration
  • Self; The Libertarian Party of Texas1 registration
  • Texas Civil Rights Project1 registration
  • Texas Rural Water Association1 registration

Against

  • Self2 registrations
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.

Senate witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Fiscal

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · May 22, 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 Senate · Filed Feb 20, 2025

06/20/2025 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
Rafael AnchíaDHouse 103 Toni RoseDHouse 110

House committee · Elections · Committee vote 8 aye, 0 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Senate committee · State Affairs · Committee vote 10 aye, 0 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Companion

HB 3097 by Anchía (identical)

Subjects

City Government--Employees/Officers

Elections--General

Political Subdivisions

Text

The text as introduced · 165 words

89R8720 LRM-D

By: Johnson, West
S.B. No. 1494

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the authority of certain political subdivisions to

change the date of their general elections.

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

SECTION 1. Section 41.0052(a), Election Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) The governing body of a political subdivision, other

than a county or municipal utility district, that holds its general

election for officers on a date other than the November uniform

election date may, not later than December 31, 2026 [ 2016 ], change

the date on which it holds its general election for officers to the

November uniform election date.

SECTION 2. 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.