SB 446

Hinojosa Bill Ends Sunset Commission Term Limits For Senators

Died in committee

Verdict: Smells

SmellsInitial review

Sen. Juan "Chuy" HinojosaDSenate 20

Both charges, and why

Caption mismatch

THE TEXT

“after a [ legislative ] member of the house of”…

Bill text, introduced version (I)

The caption says the bill relates to term limits for senators on the commission, which reads like a bill that sets limits. The text does the opposite: it removes senators from the existing limits by narrowing "legislative member" to House members only.

Caption mismatch

Carve-out

THE TEXT

…“a [ legislative ] member of the house of”…

Bill text, introduced version (I)

The change exempts one class of officeholder, state senators, from the commission's term limits, while House members and public members stay bound by them.

Carve-out

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 term limits for members of the senate serving on the Sunset Advisory Commission.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Caption: term limits for senators. Bill: senators get none. House and public members stay capped.

This bill strikes the word "legislative" from the Sunset Advisory Commission's term-limit rules and replaces it with "member of the house of representatives." That means only House members and public members stay subject to the two-term cap and the no-back-to-back-terms rule, while senators on the commission are no longer limited. Starting September 1, 2025, senators can be reappointed to the Sunset Advisory Commission with no limit on how many terms they serve.

Labels

Labels: NEVER GOT A HEARING. Filed Nov 21, 2024 and referred to the Senate Business & Commerce committee. No public hearing. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB446 · 2024-11-21

SOLD BY

Sen. Juan "Chuy" HinojosaDSenate 20

ITEM

relating to term limits for members of the senate serving on the Sunset Advisory Commission.

WHAT IT DOES

Caption: term limits for senators. Bill: senators get none. House and public members stay capped.

CHARGES

[x] CAPTION MISMATCHanalysis confidence 50%

THE TEXT

“after a [ legislative ] member of the house of”…

Bill text, introduced version (I)

[x] CARVE-OUTanalysis confidence 45%

THE TEXT

…“a [ legislative ] member of the house of”…

Bill text, introduced version (I)

The change exempts one class of officeholder, state senators, from the commission's term limits, while House members and public members stay bound by them.

TOTAL

No fiscal note in the loaded record.

HISTORY

Nov 21, 2024Received by the Secretary of the Senate
Nov 21, 2024Filed
Feb 3, 2025Read first time
Feb 3, 2025Referred to Business & Commerce

FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

Smells

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$18K Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$15K Associated General Contractors of Texas PAC$15K

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 23, 2024 to Jun 30, 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.

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$17,500.00

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$17,500.00

Cash: $17,500.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $17,500.00

Also funds 124 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Sep 3, 2024 to Jun 27, 2025. 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: 100977616, 101009664.

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$15,000.00

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$15,000.00

Cash: $15,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $15,000.00

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Jul 24, 2024 to Nov 25, 2024. 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: 100977616.

Associated General Contractors of Texas PAC$15,000.00

Associated General Contractors of Texas PAC

$15,000.00

Cash: $15,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $15,000.00

Also funds 120 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 19, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 25, 2024 to Jun 15, 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: 100977616, 101059341.

Money

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

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$17,500.00

Cash: $17,500.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $17,500.00

Also funds 124 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Sep 3, 2024 to Jun 27, 2025. 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: 100977616, 101009664.

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$15,000.00

Cash: $15,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $15,000.00

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Jul 24, 2024 to Nov 25, 2024. 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: 100977616.

Associated General Contractors of Texas PAC

$15,000.00

Cash: $15,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $15,000.00

Also funds 120 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 19, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Oct 25, 2024 to Jun 15, 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: 100977616, 101059341.

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 Nov 21, 2024

02/03/2025 S Referred to Business & Commerce

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:19 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

Senate committee · Business & Commerce · Final status: Died in committee

Subjects

Legislature

State Agencies, Boards & Commissions

TERM LIMITS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SENATE, TEXAS

SUNSET ADVISORY COMMISSION

Text

The text as introduced · 187 words

89R3094 MCK-D

By: Hinojosa of Hidalgo
S.B. No. 446

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to term limits for members of the senate serving on the

Sunset Advisory Commission.

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

SECTION 1. Section 325.003(e), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(e) Members other than the lieutenant governor and the

speaker are subject to the following restrictions:

(1) after a [ legislative ] member of the house of

representatives serves two terms on the commission or a public

member serves three terms on the commission, the individual is not

eligible for appointment to another term or part of a term;

(2) a [ legislative ] member of the house of

representatives who serves a full term may not be appointed to an

immediately succeeding term; and

(3) a public member may not serve more than two

consecutive terms, and, for purposes of this prohibition, a member

is considered to have served a term only if the member has served

more than half of the term.

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