SB 681: bill ends annual renewal for engineering licenses

Caption

relating to the renewal of an engineering license or registration.

Summary

Two years minimum. The board sets the rest by rule.

The bill ends annual renewal for Texas engineering licenses and registrations and requires the licensing board to set renewal by rule. Licenses and registrations must last at least two years. Engineers renew less often, and the board must write new rules as soon as practicable after September 1, 2025.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB681 · 2024-12-19

SOLD BY

Sen. Bryan HughesRSenate 1

ITEM

relating to the renewal of an engineering license or registration.

WHAT IT DOES

Two years minimum. The board sets the rest by rule.

The bill ends annual renewal for Texas engineering licenses and registrations and requires the licensing board to set renewal by rule. Licenses and registrations must last at least two years. Engineers renew less often, and the board must write new rules as soon as practicable after September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · May 9, 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

Dec 19, 2024Received by the Secretary of the Senate
Dec 19, 2024Filed
Feb 3, 2025Read first time
Feb 3, 2025Referred to Business & Commerce
Mar 11, 2025Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
Mar 11, 2025Considered in public hearing
Mar 11, 2025Left pending in committee
Mar 18, 2025Considered in public hearing
Mar 18, 2025Vote taken in committee
Mar 19, 2025Reported favorably as substituted
Mar 19, 2025Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
Mar 19, 2025Committee report printed and distributed
Apr 10, 2025Placed on local & uncontested calendar
Apr 10, 2025Laid before the Senate
Apr 10, 2025Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
Apr 10, 2025Vote recorded in Journal
Apr 10, 2025Three day rule suspended
Apr 10, 2025Record vote
Apr 10, 2025Read 3rd time
Apr 10, 2025Passed
Apr 10, 2025Record vote
Apr 10, 2025Reported engrossed
Apr 14, 2025Received from the Senate
Apr 17, 2025Read first time
Apr 17, 2025Referred to Licensing & Administrative Procedures
Apr 29, 2025Considered in public hearing
Apr 29, 2025Committee substitute considered in committee
Apr 29, 2025Reported favorably as substituted
May 9, 2025Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
May 9, 2025Committee report distributed
May 10, 2025Committee report sent to Calendars
May 19, 2025Considered in Calendars
May 21, 2025Placed on General State Calendar
May 21, 2025Read 2nd time
May 21, 2025Passed to 3rd reading
May 21, 2025Record vote RV#3170
May 21, 2025Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
May 22, 2025Read 3rd time
May 22, 2025Passed
May 22, 2025Record vote RV#3202
May 22, 2025Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
May 23, 2025House passage as amended reported
May 26, 2025House amendment(s) laid before the Senate
May 26, 2025Read
May 26, 2025Senate concurs in House amendment(s)
May 26, 2025Record vote
May 26, 2025Senate concurs in House amendment(s)-reported
May 26, 2025Reported enrolled
May 27, 2025Signed in the Senate
May 28, 2025Signed in the House
May 28, 2025Sent to the Governor
Jun 20, 2025Signed by the Governor
Jun 20, 2025Effective on 9/1/25

FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 144 yea · 0 nay

Senate · 30 yea · 0 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 22, 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.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Bryan Hughes

Donors

GOPAC Election Fund$250K CRAFTPAC (Court Reform Action for Texas Families)$100KCourt Reform Action for Families Texas PAC$100K

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 23, 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.

GOPAC Election Fund$250,000.00

GOPAC Election Fund

$250,000.00

Cash: $250,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $250,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 17, 2025 to Oct 15, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Jul 17, 2025 to Oct 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: 101028838, 101071548.

CRAFTPAC (Court Reform Action for Texas Families)$100,000.00

CRAFTPAC (Court Reform Action for Texas Families)

$100,000.00

Cash: $100,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $100,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · on Sep 4, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Sep 4, 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: 101067724.

Court Reform Action for Families Texas PAC$100,000.00

Court Reform Action for Families Texas PAC

$100,000.00

Cash: $100,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $100,000.00

Also funds 32 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Feb 20, 2026 to Oct 14, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Oct 13, 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: 101071548.

Money

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

×

GOPAC Election Fund

$250,000.00

Cash: $250,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $250,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 17, 2025 to Oct 15, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Jul 17, 2025 to Oct 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: 101028838, 101071548.

×

CRAFTPAC (Court Reform Action for Texas Families)

$100,000.00

Cash: $100,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $100,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · on Sep 4, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Sep 4, 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: 101067724.

×

Court Reform Action for Families Texas PAC

$100,000.00

Cash: $100,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $100,000.00

Also funds 32 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Feb 20, 2026 to Oct 14, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Oct 13, 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: 101071548.

Votes6

Senate May 26, 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 Hughes moved to concur in the House amendment to SB 681. 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 22, 2025

Yea: 144
Nay: 0
Present, not voting: 2
Absent: 2
Excused: 2

Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3202

SB 681 was passed by (Record 3202): 144 Yeas, 0 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

Yea: 144 (published)
Nay: 0 (published)
Present, not voting: 2 (published)
Absent: 2 (derived from named list)
Excused: 2 (derived from named list)

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

House May 21, 2025

Yea: 140
Nay: 0
Present, not voting: 2
Absent: 6
Excused: 2

Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3170

CSSB 681 was passed to third reading by (Record 3170): 140 Yeas, 0 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

Yea: 140 (published)
Nay: 0 (published)
Present, not voting: 2 (published)
Absent: 6 (derived from named list)
Excused: 2 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 10, 2025

Final passage

Yea: 30
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 681 (Hughes) Relating to the renewal of an engineering license or registration. (viva voce vote) (30-0) (30-0)

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

Yea: 30 (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 10, 2025

Suspension of the three-day rule

Yea: 30
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 681 (Hughes) Relating to the renewal of an engineering license or registration. (viva voce vote) (30-0) (30-0)

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

Yea: 30 (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 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

CSSB 681 (Hughes) Relating to the renewal of an engineering license or registration. (viva voce vote) (30-0) (30-0)

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.

Witnesses4

For: 3
Against: 0
On: 1

Names

For

American Council of Engineering Companies of Texas2 registrations
The Texas Society of Professional Engineers1 registration

On

Texas Board of Professional Engineers ans Land Surveyors1 registration

Sources

4 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 significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · May 9, 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 Dec 19, 2024

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.

Companion

HB 2827 by Paul (similar)

Subjects

Occupational Regulation--Other Trades & Professions

ENGINEERS & ENGINEERING

PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS & LAND SURVEYORS, TEXAS BOARD OF

Text

The text as introduced · 192 words

89R745 CMO-D

By: Hughes
S.B. No. 681

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the renewal of an engineering license or registration.

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

SECTION 1. The heading to Subchapter H, Chapter 1001,

Occupations Code, is amended to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER H. ENGINEERING LICENSE OR REGISTRATION RENEWAL

SECTION 2. The heading to Section 1001.351, Occupations

Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 1001.351. LICENSE OR REGISTRATION [ ANNUAL ] RENEWAL

[ REQUIRED ].

SECTION 3. Section 1001.351(a), Occupations Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(a) The board shall adopt rules providing for the [ provide

for the annual ] renewal of a license or registration issued under

this chapter. The rules must provide that a license or registration

issued under this chapter is valid for a term of not less than two

years.

SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date

of this Act, the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land

Surveyors shall adopt rules to implement Section 1001.351(a),

Occupations Code, as amended by this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

Verdict: No flags

The receipt

SOLD BY

ITEM

WHAT IT DOES

CHARGES

TOTAL

HISTORY

SIGNED FOR BY

Donors

GOPAC Election Fund

CRAFTPAC (Court Reform Action for Texas Families)

Court Reform Action for Families Texas PAC

GOPAC Election Fund

CRAFTPAC (Court Reform Action for Texas Families)

Court Reform Action for Families Texas PAC

Senate May 26, 2025

House May 22, 2025

House May 21, 2025

Senate Apr 10, 2025

Senate Apr 10, 2025

Senate Apr 10, 2025

For

On

Companion