Monitoring the Session

SB 519

Texas History Grants Require A Statewide Contest And A Publishing Arm

Became law

Verdict: Smells

SmellsInitial review
Sen. Mayes MiddletonRSenate 11
Why it's charged
Carve-out

THE TEXT

“host a statewide Texas history competition for”…

Bill text, House committee report version (H)

Grants are limited to nonprofits that both run a statewide student Texas history competition and publish student or faculty works. That double test describes a very narrow set of recipients, while the caption reads like a general grant program. The text does not say how many groups qualify, so confidence stays moderate.

Carve-out

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 creation of a grant program to promote educational engagement with Texas history.

Caption from analyzed text · version H.

Summary

Check both boxes or no grant. How many groups qualify? The bill doesn’t say.

The bill orders the Texas Historical Commission to create a yearly grant program to promote student engagement with Texas history. Grants may go only to nonprofits that both host a statewide Texas history competition for school-aged students and publish Texas history works written by students or faculty. The commission must set application rules by October 1, 2025, sign performance contracts with each grant winner, enforce them, and may take outside donations to fund the grants.

Labels

Labels: INSTANT LAW. Took effect immediately, on Jun 20, 2025. 833 of the 1,185 graded 89R laws took effect Sep 1, 2025 (derived from the bill histories, snapshot Oct 19, 2026).

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB519 · 2024-12-02

SOLD BY

Sen. Mayes MiddletonRSenate 11

ITEM

relating to the creation of a grant program to promote educational engagement with Texas history.

WHAT IT DOES

Check both boxes or no grant. How many groups qualify? The bill doesn’t say.

The bill orders the Texas Historical Commission to create a yearly grant program to promote student engagement with Texas history. Grants may go only to nonprofits that both host a statewide Texas history competition for school-aged students and publish Texas history works written by students or faculty. The commission must set application rules by October 1, 2025, sign performance contracts with each grant winner, enforce them, and may take outside donations to fund the grants.

CHARGES

[x] CARVE-OUTanalysis confidence 55%

THE TEXT

“host a statewide Texas history competition for”…

Bill text, House committee report version (H)

Grants are limited to nonprofits that both run a statewide student Texas history competition and publish student or faculty works. That double test describes a very narrow set of recipients, while the caption reads like a general grant program. The text does not say how many groups qualify, so confidence stays moderate.

TOTAL

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · March 16, 2025

There would be an additional indeterminate cost related to the grant program authorized by the bill which would be dependent on the number of grant applications and appropriations made for this purpose.

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 Economic Development
  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. Corrected comm. report printed & distributed
  15. Placed on local & uncontested calendar
  16. Laid before the Senate
  17. Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
  18. Vote recorded in Journal
  19. Three day rule suspended
  20. Record vote
  21. Read 3rd time
  22. Passed
  23. Record vote
  24. Reported engrossed
  25. Received from the Senate
  26. Read first time
  27. Referred to Culture, Recreation & Tourism
  28. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  29. Considered in public hearing
  30. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
  31. Left pending in committee
  32. Considered in formal meeting
  33. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  34. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  35. Committee report distributed
  36. Committee report sent to Calendars
  37. Considered in Calendars
  38. Placed on General State Calendar
  39. Read 2nd time
  40. Passed to 3rd reading
  41. Read 3rd time
  42. Postponed 5/28/25 7:00 AM
  43. Laid out as postponed business
  44. Passed
  45. Record vote RV#3919
  46. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  47. House passage reported
  48. Reported enrolled
  49. Signed in the Senate
  50. Signed in the House
  51. Sent to the Governor
  52. Signed by the Governor
  53. Effective immediately
FILED UNDER

TAXPAYER-FUNDED NGOS

THE TEXT

…“annually to nonprofit entities that:”

Bill text, House committee report version (H)

The bill sends state grant money each year to nonprofit groups rather than running the history program through the agency itself.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 110 yea · 19 nay

Senate · 28 yea · 2 nay

Sources

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

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

All floor motions and other positions below.

Smells

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Mayes Middleton

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$1.14MRussell Gordy$300,000Kenneth Fisher$215,000

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 6, 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.

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$1,140,000.00

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$1,140,000.00

Cash
$1,140,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$1,140,000.00

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 · Dec 12, 2024 to Oct 21, 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: 101009502, 101012383, 101061137, 101072395, 101072779.

Russell Gordy$300,000.00
Kenneth Fisher$215,000.00
Money

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

×

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$1,140,000.00

Cash
$1,140,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$1,140,000.00

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 · Dec 12, 2024 to Oct 21, 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: 101009502, 101012383, 101061137, 101072395, 101072779.

Votes4

House May 28, 2025

Yea
110
Nay
19
Present, not voting
2
Absent
12
Excused
7
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3919

SB 519 was passed by (Record 3919): 110 Yeas, 19 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 110 (published)
  • Nay: 19 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 12 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 7 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 10, 2025

Final passage

Yea
28
Nay
2
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 519 (Middleton) Relating to the creation of a grant program to promote educational engagement with Texas history. (viva voce vote) (28-2) "Nays" Gutierrez, Hall (28-2) "Nays" Gutierrez, Hall

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

  • Yea: 28 (published)
  • Nay: 2 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

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

Senate Apr 10, 2025

Suspension of the three-day rule

Yea
28
Nay
2
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 519 (Middleton) Relating to the creation of a grant program to promote educational engagement with Texas history. (viva voce vote) (28-2) "Nays" Gutierrez, Hall (28-2) "Nays" Gutierrez, Hall

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

  • Yea: 28 (published)
  • Nay: 2 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

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

Senate Apr 10, 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 519 (Middleton) Relating to the creation of a grant program to promote educational engagement with Texas history. (viva voce vote) (28-2) "Nays" Gutierrez, Hall (28-2) "Nays" Gutierrez, Hall

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.

Witnesses9
For
6
Against
2
On
1
Names

For

  • Self1 registration
  • Self; South Texans’ Property Rights Association1 registration
  • Self; Texas State Historical Association4 registrations

Against

  • Self2 registrations

On

  • Texas Historical Commission1 registration
Sources

9 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 first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · March 16, 2025

There would be an additional indeterminate cost related to the grant program authorized by the bill which would be dependent on the number of grant applications and appropriations made for this purpose.

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 Dec 2, 2024

06/20/2025 E Effective immediately

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · Senate Committee Report · Engrossed · House Committee Report · Enrolled

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

Sponsors
Will MetcalfRHouse 16

House committee · Culture, Recreation & Tourism · Committee vote 9 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Senate committee · Economic Development · Committee vote 5 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Subjects

Charitable & Nonprofit Organizations

State Finances--Management & Control

HISTORICAL COMMISSION, TEXAS

Text

The text as introduced · 287 words

89R623 RDS-D

By: Middleton
S.B. No. 519

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the creation of a grant program to promote educational

engagement with Texas history.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 442, Government Code, is

amended by adding Section 442.0205 to read as follows:

Sec. 442.0205. TEXAS HISTORY GRANT PROGRAM. (a) The

commission shall create and administer a grant program to support

the purpose of promoting educational engagement with the history of

this state. Subject to Subsection (b), the grants must be awarded

annually to nonprofit entities that:

(1) host a statewide Texas history competition for

school-aged students; and

(2) publish works on Texas history written by students

or faculty members.

(b) The commission shall establish procedures to administer

the grant program, including procedures for applying for a grant

under this section. The commission shall enter into a contract that

includes performance requirements with each grant recipient. The

commission shall monitor and enforce the terms of the contract.

(c) In addition to funds appropriated by the legislature,

the commission may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations

from any public or private source for the purpose of awarding grants

under this section.

SECTION 2. The Texas Historical Commission shall establish

the procedures for applying for a grant under Section 442.0205,

Government Code, as added by this Act, not later than October 1,

2025.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.