Monitoring the Session

SB 2121

bill widens who counts as a data broker

Became law, effective Sep 1, 2025

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Sen. Nathan JohnsonDSenate 16

Initial review · graded Oct 22, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to the regulation of certain business entities that act as data brokers.

Caption from analyzed text · version H.

Summary

Any business holding personal data it didn’t get from you.

This bill widens the state's definition of a data broker to cover any business that collects, processes, or transfers personal data it did not get directly from the person, not just businesses that make most of their money that way. It also adds a second trigger so the data broker law covers a company that earns revenue from processing or transferring the secondhand personal data of more than 50,000 people, even if that is not most of its revenue. More data-selling companies fall under the existing Texas data broker rules starting September 1, 2025.

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.CROSS-PARTY HANDOFF. Lead author Nathan Johnson (D) in the Senate. Lead sponsor Keith Bell (R) in the House. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB2121 · 2025-03-10

SOLD BY

Sen. Nathan JohnsonDSenate 16

ITEM

relating to the regulation of certain business entities that act as data brokers.

WHAT IT DOES

Any business holding personal data it didn’t get from you.

This bill widens the state's definition of a data broker to cover any business that collects, processes, or transfers personal data it did not get directly from the person, not just businesses that make most of their money that way. It also adds a second trigger so the data broker law covers a company that earns revenue from processing or transferring the secondhand personal data of more than 50,000 people, even if that is not most of its revenue. More data-selling companies fall under the existing Texas data broker rules starting September 1, 2025.

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 15, 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 Business & Commerce
  5. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  6. Considered in public hearing
  7. Left pending in committee
  8. Considered in public hearing
  9. Vote taken in committee
  10. Reported favorably as substituted
  11. Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
  12. Committee report printed and distributed
  13. Placed on local & uncontested calendar
  14. Laid before the Senate
  15. Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
  16. Vote recorded in Journal
  17. Three day rule suspended
  18. Record vote
  19. Read 3rd time
  20. Passed
  21. Record vote
  22. Reported engrossed
  23. Received from the Senate
  24. Read first time
  25. Referred to Trade, Workforce & Economic Development
  26. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  27. Considered in public hearing
  28. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
  29. Left pending in committee
  30. Considered in public hearing
  31. Committee substitute considered in committee
  32. Reported favorably as substituted
  33. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  34. Committee report distributed
  35. Committee report sent to Calendars
  36. Considered in Calendars
  37. Placed on General State Calendar
  38. Read 2nd time
  39. Passed to 3rd reading
  40. Read 3rd time
  41. Postponed 5/28/25 10:00 AM
  42. Record vote RV#3666
  43. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  44. Laid out as postponed business
  45. Passed
  46. Record vote RV#3933
  47. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  48. House passage as amended reported
  49. House amendment(s) laid before the Senate
  50. Read
  51. Senate concurs in House amendment(s)
  52. Record vote
  53. Senate concurs in House amendment(s)-reported
  54. Reported enrolled
  55. Signed in the Senate
  56. Signed in the House
  57. Sent to the Governor
  58. Signed by the Governor
  59. Effective on 9/1/25
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 131 yea · 2 nay

Senate · 31 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 24, 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 2121. 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
131
Nay
2
Present, not voting
1
Absent
8
Excused
8
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3933

SB 2121 was passed by (Record 3933): 131 Yeas, 2 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 131 (published)
  • Nay: 2 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 8 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 8 (derived from named list)

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

House May 27, 2025

Yea
113
Nay
27
Present, not voting
3
Absent
4
Excused
3
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3666

Representative K. Bell moved to postpone consideration of SB 2121 until 10 a.m. tomorrow. The motion prevailed by (Record 3666): 113 Yeas, 27 Nays, 3 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 113 (published)
  • Nay: 27 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 3 (published)
  • Absent: 4 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 3 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 24, 2025

Final passage

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.

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

CSSB 2121 (Johnson) Relating to the regulation of certain business entities that act as data brokers. (viva voce vote) (31-0) (31-0)

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.

Senate Apr 24, 2025

Suspension of the three-day rule

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.

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

CSSB 2121 (Johnson) Relating to the regulation of certain business entities that act as data brokers. (viva voce vote) (31-0) (31-0)

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.

Senate Apr 24, 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

CSSB 2121 (Johnson) Relating to the regulation of certain business entities that act as data brokers. (viva voce vote) (31-0) (31-0)

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
0
On
2
Names

For

  • Self2 registrations
  • Texas Appleseed2 registrations
  • Texas Public Policy Foundation1 registration

On

  • Office of the Attorney General1 registration
  • Texas Secretary of State1 registration
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.

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

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 15, 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 Mar 10, 2025

06/20/2025 E Effective on 9/1/25

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
Keith BellRHouse 4

House committee · Trade, Workforce & Economic Development · Committee vote 9 aye, 0 nay, 2 absent · Out of committee

Senate committee · Business & Commerce · Committee vote 11 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Subjects

Business & Commerce--General

Protection of Personal Information

Text

The text as introduced · 240 words

89R15476 BCH-F

By: Johnson
S.B. No. 2121

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the regulation of certain business entities that act as

data brokers.

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

SECTION 1. Section 509.003(a), Business & Commerce Code, as

added by Chapter 963 (S.B. 2105), Acts of the 88th Legislature,

Regular Session, 2023, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), this chapter

applies only to a business entity [ data broker ] that, in a 12-month

period, derives:

(1) more than 50 percent of the business entity's [ data

broker's ] revenue from processing or transferring personal data

that the business entity [ data broker ] did not collect directly

from the individuals to whom the data pertains; or

(2) revenue from processing or transferring the

personal data of more than 50,000 individuals that the business

entity [ data broker ] did not collect directly from the individuals

to whom the data pertains.

SECTION 2. It is the intent of the 89th Legislature, Regular

Session, 2025, that the amendments made by this Act to Section

509.003(a), Business & Commerce Code, as added by Chapter 963 (S.B.

2105), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, be

harmonized with another Act of the 89th Legislature, Regular

Session, 2025, relating to nonsubstantive additions to and

corrections in enacted codes.

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