Monitoring the Session

SB 319

bill creates a state debt retirement account

Died in committee

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 dedicating certain state revenue to the purpose of retiring state debt.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Money held back from the rainy day fund pays down debt instead.

The bill creates a state debt retirement account inside the general revenue fund, run by the comptroller. Money that the constitution lets the comptroller hold back from the rainy day fund, plus interest kept out of that fund, would go into this account instead of general spending. Lawmakers could spend that money only on paying principal or interest on state debt, and once no state debt is owed, the leftover money goes back to general use.

Labels

Labels: ZOMBIE BILL. Died 2 times: 88R SB 1335 (Died in committee) and this bill (Died in committee). Checked against 88R only.BACK FROM THE DEAD. Same text as a bill filed before that died: 88R SB 1335 (Died in committee). 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.NEVER GOT A HEARING. Filed Nov 12, 2024 and referred to the Senate Finance committee. No public hearing. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB319 · 2024-11-12

SOLD BY

Sen. Brandon CreightonRSenate 4

ITEM

relating to dedicating certain state revenue to the purpose of retiring state debt.

WHAT IT DOES

Money held back from the rainy day fund pays down debt instead.

The bill creates a state debt retirement account inside the general revenue fund, run by the comptroller. Money that the constitution lets the comptroller hold back from the rainy day fund, plus interest kept out of that fund, would go into this account instead of general spending. Lawmakers could spend that money only on paying principal or interest on state debt, and once no state debt is owed, the leftover money goes back to general use.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No fiscal note in the loaded record.

HISTORY

  1. Received by the Secretary of the Senate
  2. Filed
  3. Read first time
  4. Referred to Finance
ALSO NOTED · NOT CHARGED (1)

NEW FEE, FUND, BOARD OR APPOINTEES · analysis confidence 40%

THE TEXT

“The state debt retirement account is an account in the general revenue fund administered by the comptroller.”

Bill text, introduced version (I)

The bill creates a new dedicated account. The caption says plainly that it dedicates revenue to retiring debt, so the account is the honest mechanism, not a hidden build-out.

FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

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.

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.

FILED BEFORE

Filed 2 times: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.

88R SB 1335

by Sen. Creighton, same lead author · Died in committee · same text

Introduced text

Last action, Mar 16, 2023: Referred to Finance

Relating to dedicating certain state revenue to the purpose of retiring state debt.

Caption, 88R bill history

Sources

Texas Senate · Filed Nov 12, 2024

02/03/2025 S Referred to Finance

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 · Finance · Final status: Died in committee

Subjects

State Finances--Appropriations

State Finances--Management & Control

DEBT

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

Text

The text as introduced · 326 words

89R4441 CS-D

By: Creighton
S.B. No. 319

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to dedicating certain state revenue to the purpose of

retiring state debt.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 403, Government Code, is

amended by adding Section 403.098 to read as follows:

Sec. 403.098. ALLOCATIONS FOR STATE DEBT RETIREMENT. (a)

The state debt retirement account is an account in the general

revenue fund administered by the comptroller.

(b) Each time the comptroller, as provided by Section

49-g(b) or (c), Article III, Texas Constitution, reduces an amount

of general revenue that otherwise is to be transferred to the

economic stabilization fund, the comptroller shall allocate to the

credit of the state debt retirement account an amount of general

revenue equal to the amount by which the comptroller reduced the

amount of the transfer to the economic stabilization fund.

(c) Each time the comptroller, as provided by Section

49-g(i), Article III, Texas Constitution, credits to general

revenue an amount of interest otherwise due to the economic

stabilization fund, the comptroller shall credit that amount to the

state debt retirement account.

(d) Except as provided by Subsection (f), money allocated or

credited to the state debt retirement account under this section

may be appropriated only to pay the principal of or interest on

state bonds, notes, or other obligations.

(e) At any time there is no outstanding amount of principal

or interest owed on a state bond, note, or other obligation, the

comptroller:

(1) shall allocate to the nondedicated portion of the

general revenue fund any remaining balance of money allocated or

credited to the state debt retirement account under this section;

and

(2) may not make an allocation or credit money as

otherwise required by Subsection (b) or (c).

(f) Money allocated as provided by Subsection (e)(1) may be

appropriated for any general governmental purpose.

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