Monitoring the Session

SB 2965

bill on cities annexing emergency services district land

Became law, effective Sep 1, 2025

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Sen. Brandon CreightonRSenate 4

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 territory in an emergency services district that is annexed by a municipality.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Cities send a service plan. The district board decides.

When a city annexes land inside an emergency services district and wants to pull that land out of the district, the city must now send its service plan along with its notice, and the district board decides whether to let the land go. The board must refuse if the city's planned fire and emergency medical service will not meet or exceed the district's current service, measured by station location, deployment and response time, and the land stays in the district and outside the city until the board approves. If the board does not act within 30 days of getting the notice, the removal is treated as approved.

Labels

Labels: BUZZER BEATER. Final vote May 30, 2025: the Senate concurred in the House amendments. 3 days before the session ended Jun 2, 2025.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB2965 · 2025-03-14

SOLD BY

Sen. Brandon CreightonRSenate 4

ITEM

relating to territory in an emergency services district that is annexed by a municipality.

WHAT IT DOES

Cities send a service plan. The district board decides.

When a city annexes land inside an emergency services district and wants to pull that land out of the district, the city must now send its service plan along with its notice, and the district board decides whether to let the land go. The board must refuse if the city's planned fire and emergency medical service will not meet or exceed the district's current service, measured by station location, deployment and response time, and the land stays in the district and outside the city until the board approves. If the board does not act within 30 days of getting the notice, the removal is treated as approved.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version F · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version F · May 28, 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 Local Government
  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 local & uncontested calendar
  15. Laid before the Senate
  16. Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
  17. Vote recorded in Journal
  18. Three day rule suspended
  19. Record vote
  20. Read 3rd time
  21. Passed
  22. Record vote
  23. Reported engrossed
  24. Received from the Senate
  25. Read first time
  26. Referred to Land & Resource Management
  27. Considered in formal meeting
  28. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  29. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  30. Committee report distributed
  31. Committee report sent to Calendars
  32. Considered in Calendars
  33. Placed on General State Calendar
  34. Read 2nd time
  35. Amended 1-Villalobos
  36. Record vote RV#3720
  37. Passed to 3rd reading as amended
  38. Record vote RV#3721
  39. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  40. Read 3rd time
  41. Passed
  42. Record vote RV#3851
  43. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  44. House passage as amended reported
  45. House amendment(s) laid before the Senate
  46. Read
  47. Senate concurs in House amendment(s)
  48. Record vote
  49. Senate concurs in House amendment(s)-reported
  50. Reported enrolled
  51. Signed in the Senate
  52. Signed in the House
  53. Sent to the Governor
  54. Signed by the Governor
  55. Effective on 9/1/25
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 124 yea · 14 nay

Senate · 30 yea · 1 nay

Sources

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

Senate: Final passage · May 9, 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

Brandon Creighton

Donors

Donors report through Friends of Brandon Creighton.

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

$0 raised since Jul 1, 2024. Derived sum of published report totals. blank in the state's data, consistent with zero. Flow, Jul 1, 2024 through Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026. 4 of 4 filed reports carry a published figure.

Report 101060909: Published total from the filed report. Retrieved Oct 29, 2026. Filed report 101060909

$0 spent Jan 1, 2026 to Jun 30, 2026. Published total from the filed report. Flow, Jan 1, 2026 through Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026. 1 of 1 filed reports carry a published figure.

Report 101060909: Published total from the filed report. Retrieved Oct 29, 2026. Filed report 101060909

$0 cash on hand. Published report total. Stock, as of Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026.

$0 loans outstanding. Published report total. Stock, as of Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived sum of itemized contributions in regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Unitemized contributions are not included. Flow, Jul 1, 2024 through Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Money

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

Votes7

Senate May 30, 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 Creighton moved to concur in the House amendment to SB 2965. 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
124
Nay
14
Present, not voting
3
Absent
3
Excused
6
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3851

SB 2965 was passed by (Record 3851): 124 Yeas, 14 Nays, 3 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 124 (published)
  • Nay: 14 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 3 (published)
  • Absent: 3 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 6 (derived from named list)

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

House May 27, 2025

Yea
134
Nay
9
Present, not voting
3
Absent
0
Excused
4
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3721

SB 2965, as amended, was passed to third reading by (Record 3721): 134 Yeas, 9 Nays, 3 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 134 (published)
  • Nay: 9 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 3 (published)
  • Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 4 (derived from named list)

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

House May 27, 2025

Yea
128
Nay
11
Present, not voting
2
Absent
5
Excused
4
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3720

Amendment No. 1 was adopted by (Record 3720): 128 Yeas, 11 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 128 (published)
  • Nay: 11 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 5 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 4 (derived from named list)

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

Senate May 9, 2025

Final passage

Yea
30
Nay
1
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

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.

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 2965 (Creighton) Relating to territory in an emergency services district that is annexed by a municipality. (viva voce vote) (30-1) "Nay" Eckhardt (30-1) "Nay" Eckhardt

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

  • Yea: 30 (published)
  • Nay: 1 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

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

Senate May 9, 2025

Suspension of the three-day rule

Yea
30
Nay
1
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

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.

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 2965 (Creighton) Relating to territory in an emergency services district that is annexed by a municipality. (viva voce vote) (30-1) "Nay" Eckhardt (30-1) "Nay" Eckhardt

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

  • Yea: 30 (published)
  • Nay: 1 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

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

Senate May 9, 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 2965 (Creighton) Relating to territory in an emergency services district that is annexed by a municipality. (viva voce vote) (30-1) "Nay" Eckhardt (30-1) "Nay" Eckhardt

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.

Witnesses29
For
19
Against
10
On
0
Names

For

  • Bexar County ESD Association1 registration
  • El Paso County1 registration
  • SAFE-D, the Texas State Association of Fire and Emergency Districts1 registration
  • Self1 registration
  • Self; Bexar County Emergency Services Districts Association1 registration
  • Self; Bexar County ESD Association1 registration
  • Self; Bexar County ESD No. 21 registration
  • Self; Montgomery co Emergency service district 61 registration
  • Self; Montgomery County ESD #31 registration
  • Self; Montgomery County ESD11 registration
  • Self; Parker County ESD No. 1, Texas Fire Chiefs Association1 registration
  • Self; Porter FD, Montgomery Co. ESD 61 registration
  • Self; Texas State Association of Firefighters1 registration
  • Self; Travis county esd no. 21 registration
  • Texas Fire Ciefs Association1 registration
  • Texas State Association of Fire and Emergency Districts1 registration
  • Travis County Emergency Services District Number 121 registration
  • Travis County ESD No. 6 / Lake Travis Fire Rescue1 registration
  • Travis County Fire Rescue ESD 111 registration

Against

  • City of Corpus Christi1 registration
  • City of Georgetown2 registrations
  • City of Leander1 registration
  • Self3 registrations
  • Self; City of Pflugerville1 registration
  • Self; San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association1 registration
  • Texas Municipal League1 registration
Sources

29 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 F · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version F · May 28, 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 Mar 14, 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
Cecil Bell Jr.RHouse 3 Jared PattersonRHouse 106
Cosponsors
Will MetcalfRHouse 16

House committee · Land & Resource Management · Committee vote 6 aye, 0 nay, 3 absent · Out of committee

Senate committee · Local Government · Committee vote 6 aye, 0 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Companion

HB 3897 by Bell, Cecil (identical)

Subjects

City Government--Annexation

Health--Emergency Services & Personnel

Special Districts & Authorities--Miscellaneous

Text

The text as introduced · 491 words

89R10443 MCF-F

By: Creighton
S.B. No. 2965

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to territory in an emergency services district that is

annexed by a municipality.

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

SECTION 1. Section 775.022, Health and Safety Code, is

amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to

read as follows:

(a) If a municipality completes all other procedures

necessary to annex territory in a district , including the

preparation of a service plan if required by Section 43.056, Local

Government Code, [ and if ] the municipality intends to remove the

territory from the district , and the municipality is capable at the

time of the removal of being [ be ] the sole provider of emergency

services to the territory by the use of municipal personnel or by

some method other than by use of the district, the municipality

shall send written notice of those facts , and the completed service

plan, if applicable, to the board not later than the 30th day after

completing the necessary procedures . The municipality must send

the notice to the secretary of the board by certified mail, return

receipt requested. The territory remains part of the district and

does not become part of the municipality until the secretary of the

board receives the notice and the board by resolution disannexes

the territory from the district . If the board determines that the

municipal services planned to be provided in the territory will not

meet or exceed the level of service provided by the district in the

territory, the board shall adopt that determination in a resolution

and may not by resolution disannex the territory from the district.

If the board determines that municipal services planned to be

provided in the territory will meet or exceed the level of service

provided by the district in the territory at the time of

disannexation [ On receipt of the notice ], the board shall by

resolution disannex the territory from the district, notify the

appraisal district to [ immediately ] change its records to show that

the territory has been disannexed from the district , and [ shall ]

cease to provide further services to the residents of that

territory. This subsection does not require a municipality to

remove from a district territory the municipality has annexed. For

the purposes of this subsection, "level of service" for fire and

emergency medical protection means the location, deployment, and

response time of fire suppression or medical resources originally

dispatched to a structural or wildland fire or emergency medical

incident.

(a-1) A board is considered to have approved a disannexation

of territory under Subsection (a) if the board fails to provide to

the municipality a resolution disapproving or approving the

disannexation before the 30th day after the date the board receives

the notice under Subsection (a) from the municipality.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.