SB 1518
Schwertner Hotel Bill Lifts Spending Limits For One Unnamed City
Died in committee
Verdict: Smells
Why it's charged
Bracket bill
The exemption reaches a city picked out only by a cross-reference to another section's description, not by a general rule. The caption's 'certain municipalities' does not tell a reader which city that is.
Bracket billInitial 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 municipalities to use certain tax revenue for hotel and convention center projects.
Caption from analyzed text · version I.
Summary
Which city? See Section 351.152(10). Cities of 175,000 or more are exempt too.
The bill rewrites a subsection of the state hotel tax law so that the limits in Subsection (c) on using hotel and related tax revenue for hotel and convention center projects do not apply to two groups of cities. Those groups are cities with 175,000 or more people and one city type identified only by a cross-reference to Section 351.152(10) of the Tax Code. The cities in those groups gain more room to put that tax money toward hotel and convention center projects, starting immediately or on September 1, 2025.
Labels
Labels: QUICK READ: 133 WORDS. The bill as filed runs 133 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).NEVER GOT A HEARING. Filed Feb 21, 2025 and referred to the Senate Economic Development committee. No public hearing. The bill died.
Receipt
The receipt
89R-SB1518 · 2025-02-21
SOLD BY
ITEM
relating to the authority of certain municipalities to use certain tax revenue for hotel and convention center projects.
WHAT IT DOES
Which city? See Section 351.152(10). Cities of 175,000 or more are exempt too.
The bill rewrites a subsection of the state hotel tax law so that the limits in Subsection (c) on using hotel and related tax revenue for hotel and convention center projects do not apply to two groups of cities. Those groups are cities with 175,000 or more people and one city type identified only by a cross-reference to Section 351.152(10) of the Tax Code. The cities in those groups gain more room to put that tax money toward hotel and convention center projects, starting immediately or on September 1, 2025.
CHARGES
[x] BRACKET BILLanalysis confidence 50%
The exemption reaches a city picked out only by a cross-reference to another section's description, not by a general rule. The caption's 'certain municipalities' does not tell a reader which city that is.
TOTAL
No fiscal note in the loaded record.
HISTORY
- Received by the Secretary of the Senate
- Filed
- Read first time
- Referred to Economic Development
FILED UNDER
No verified beat found.
THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT
CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY
CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY
Donors
Donors report through Texans for Charles Schwertner.
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.
MoneyMissing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.
Votes
No floor vote loaded for this bill.
Fiscal
No fiscal note in the loaded record.
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 21, 2025
03/06/2025 S Referred to Economic Development
Texas Legislature Online · Introduced
Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.
Senate committee · Economic Development · Final status: Died in committee
Subjects
Taxation--Hotel, Motel Occupancy
Text
The text as introduced · 133 words
89R12862 RDS-F By: Schwertner S.B. No. 1518 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to the authority of certain municipalities to use certain tax revenue for hotel and convention center projects. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 351.155(d), Tax Code, is amended to read as follows: (d) Subsection (c) does not apply to : (1) a municipality with a population of 175,000 or more ; or (2) a municipality described by Section 351.152(10) . 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.