The bill adds Ashe juniper trees on residential property to the short list of trees a city cannot stop someone from removing or charge a tree mitigation fee for. It touches homeowners and residential property owners with Ashe junipers, and the cities that regulate tree removal. Starting September 1, 2025, cities could no longer ban removal of these trees on residential lots or charge mitigation fees for cutting them down.
Labels
Labels: ZOMBIE BILL. Died 2 times: 88R HB 2239 by Rep. Troxclair (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 2239 by Rep. Troxclair (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.QUICK READ: 123 WORDS. The bill as filed runs 123 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).GOT HALFWAY. Passed the Senate on Apr 16, 2025. Died in the House: voted out of the Land & Resource Management committee 5-1, no floor vote.
relating to municipal regulation of the removal of an Ashe juniper
tree.
WHAT IT DOES
Cities can’t stop it or charge a mitigation fee.
The bill adds Ashe juniper trees on residential property to the short list of trees a city cannot stop someone from removing or charge a tree mitigation fee for. It touches homeowners and residential property owners with Ashe junipers, and the cities that regulate tree removal. Starting September 1, 2025, cities could no longer ban removal of these trees on residential lots or charge mitigation fees for cutting them down.
CHARGES
[ ] NONE FOUND
TOTAL
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
Senator A. Hinojosa moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up for consideration CSSB 1927 at this time on its third reading and final passage: CSSB 1927, Relating to municipal regulation of the removal of an Ashe juniper tree. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 21, Nays 10.
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 21 (published)
Nay: 10 (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.
Senator A. Hinojosa moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up for consideration CSSB 1927 at this time on its second reading: CSSB 1927, Relating to municipal regulation of the removal of an Ashe juniper tree. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 21, Nays 10.
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 21 (published)
Nay: 10 (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.
Witnesses22
For
9
Against
13
On
0
Names
For
Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP1 registration
City of San Antonio1 registration
Schwartz, Page & Harding, LLP1 registration
Self1 registration
Self; South Texans’ Property Rights Association1 registration
Self; Texans for Reasonable Solutions1 registration
Texas Association of Builders2 registrations
Texas Public Policy Foundation1 registration
Against
Audubon Texas1 registration
City of Austin1 registration
City of West Lake Hills2 registrations
Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance1 registration
Lone Star Chapter Sierra Club1 registration
Self5 registrations
Self; Lone Star Chapter, Sierra Club1 registration
Self; Travis Audubon Society1 registration
Sources
22 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.
Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.
89R3394 DNC-D
By: Hinojosa of Nueces
S.B. No. 1927
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to municipal regulation of the removal of an Ashe juniper
tree.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 212.905(h), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(h) A municipality may not prohibit the removal of or impose
a tree mitigation fee for the removal of [ a tree that ]:
(1) a tree that is diseased or dead; [ or ]
(2) a tree that poses an imminent or immediate threat
to persons or property ; or
(3) an Ashe juniper tree located on a residential
property .
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
Monitoring 
