Monitoring the SessionSB 798
Died in committee
This clause opens the extra registration fee to a new group of counties, putting a new charge on drivers there. The caption openly says it is a fee, so this is a tag rather than a hidden surprise.
New fee, fund, board or appointeesInitial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade
relating to authorizing an optional county fee on vehicle registration in certain counties to be used for transportation projects.
Caption from analyzed text · version I.
Multi-county mobility authority? Your county qualifies. Drivers pay if commissioners adopt it.
The bill lets more Texas counties add an optional extra fee to vehicle registrations to pay for transportation projects. It adds any county that belongs to a regional mobility authority made up of at least two counties, and it limits the voter-approved bump to $20 to border counties and mid-sized single-county authority counties under 700,000 people. Drivers in the newly covered counties could see a higher registration bill if their commissioners court adopts the fee.
Labels: ZOMBIE BILL. Died 2 times: 88R SB 282 (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 282 (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 Jan 15, 2025 and referred to the Senate Transportation committee. No public hearing. The bill died.
89R-SB798 · 2025-01-15
relating to authorizing an optional county fee on vehicle registration in certain counties to be used for transportation projects.
Multi-county mobility authority? Your county qualifies. Drivers pay if commissioners adopt it.
The bill lets more Texas counties add an optional extra fee to vehicle registrations to pay for transportation projects. It adds any county that belongs to a regional mobility authority made up of at least two counties, and it limits the voter-approved bump to $20 to border counties and mid-sized single-county authority counties under 700,000 people. Drivers in the newly covered counties could see a higher registration bill if their commissioners court adopts the fee.
[x] NEW FEE, FUND, BOARD OR APPOINTEESanalysis confidence 45%
This clause opens the extra registration fee to a new group of counties, putting a new charge on drivers there. The caption openly says it is a fee, so this is a tag rather than a hidden surprise.
No fiscal note in the loaded record.
No verified beat found.
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CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY
Not tied to this bill.
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 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.
Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.
No floor vote loaded for this bill.
No fiscal note in the loaded record.
Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.
Filed 2 times: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.
by Sen. Eckhardt, same lead author · Died in committee · same text
Introduced textLast action, Feb 15, 2023: Referred to Transportation
Relating to authorizing an optional county fee on vehicle registration in certain counties to be used for transportation projects.
Caption, 88R bill history
Texas Senate · Filed Jan 15, 2025
02/07/2025 S Referred to Transportation
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 · Transportation · Final status: Died in committee
HB 3116 by Bucy (identical)
County Government--General
Fees & Other Nontax Revenue--Local
Vehicles & Traffic--Vehicle Registration
The text as introduced · 271 words
89R4362 CXP-F By: Eckhardt S.B. No. 798 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to authorizing an optional county fee on vehicle registration in certain counties to be used for transportation projects. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Sections 502.402(a) and (b-1), Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows: (a) This section applies only to: (1) a county that: (A) borders the United Mexican States; and (B) has a population of more than 250,000; (2) a county that has a population of more than 1.5 million that is coterminous with a regional mobility authority; [ and ] (3) a county that has a population of more than 190,000 and not more than 1.5 million that is coterminous with a regional mobility authority ; and (4) a county that is part of a regional mobility authority created under Chapter 370 with at least two counties . (b-1) The commissioners court of a county described by Subsection (a)(1) or (3) [ (a) ] with a population of less than 700,000 may increase the additional fee to an amount that does not exceed $20 if approved by a majority of the qualified voters of the county voting on the issue at a referendum election, which the commissioners court may order and hold for that purpose. SECTION 2. 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.