Monitoring the Session

SB 968

podiatry temporary license renamed residency license

Became law, effective Sep 1, 2025

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Sen. Judith ZaffiriniDSenate 21

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 the licensing and regulation of the practice of podiatry.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

The provisional license section is repealed.

The bill renames the podiatry "temporary" license to a "residency" license and keeps the commission's power to set rules for who gets one and how long it lasts. It also repeals two sections of the podiatry law, Section 202.061 and the Section 202.260 provisional license, and drops the cross-reference that excluded provisional-license applicants. Licenses already issued under the old temporary-license section stay valid until they expire, and the changes start September 1, 2025.

Labels

Labels: CROSS-PARTY HANDOFF. Lead author Judith Zaffirini (D) in the Senate. Lead sponsor Charles Cunningham (R) in the House. Party as the Legislative Reference Library lists it for the 89th Legislature.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB968 · 2025-01-29

SOLD BY

Sen. Judith ZaffiriniDSenate 21

ITEM

relating to the licensing and regulation of the practice of podiatry.

WHAT IT DOES

The provisional license section is repealed.

The bill renames the podiatry "temporary" license to a "residency" license and keeps the commission's power to set rules for who gets one and how long it lasts. It also repeals two sections of the podiatry law, Section 202.061 and the Section 202.260 provisional license, and drops the cross-reference that excluded provisional-license applicants. Licenses already issued under the old temporary-license section stay valid until they expire, and the changes start September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 21, 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

  1. Received by the Secretary of the Senate
  2. Filed
  3. Read first time
  4. Referred to Health & Human Services
  5. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  6. Considered in public hearing
  7. Left pending in committee
  8. Considered in public hearing
  9. Vote taken in committee
  10. Reported favorably w/o amendments
  11. Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
  12. Committee report printed and distributed
  13. Placed on local & uncontested calendar
  14. Laid before the Senate
  15. Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
  16. Vote recorded in Journal
  17. Three day rule suspended
  18. Record vote
  19. Read 3rd time
  20. Passed
  21. Record vote
  22. Reported engrossed
  23. Received from the Senate
  24. Read first time
  25. Referred to Public Health
  26. Posting rule suspended
  27. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  28. Considered in public hearing
  29. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
  30. Left pending in committee
  31. Considered in formal meeting
  32. Recommended to be sent to Local & Consent
  33. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  34. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  35. Committee report distributed
  36. Comm. report sent to Local & Consent Calendar
  37. Considered in Local & Consent Calendars
  38. Placed on Local, Consent, and Res. Calendar
  39. Read 2nd time
  40. Passed to 3rd reading
  41. Nonrecord vote recorded in Journal
  42. Read 3rd time
  43. Passed
  44. Record vote RV#3832
  45. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  46. Nonrecord 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 on 9/1/25
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 115 yea · 26 nay

Senate · 31 yea · 0 nay

Sources

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

Senate: Final passage · Apr 24, 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

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Judith Zaffirini

Donors

Carlos M. Zaffirini Jr$110,000Killam Development Ltd.$73KTexas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$60K

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.

Carlos M. Zaffirini Jr$110,000.00
Killam Development Ltd.$72,700.00

Killam Development Ltd.

$72,700.00

Cash
$10,000.00
Paid by others
$62,700.00
Total
$72,700.00
advertising $33,000.00media $29,700.00

Also funds 3 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Dec 9, 2024 to Sep 28, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

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

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 16, 2025 to Aug 20, 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: 101011018, 101057658.

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$60,000.00

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$60,000.00

Cash
$60,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$60,000.00

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 · Nov 11, 2024 to Aug 31, 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: 100959783, 100987492, 101011018, 101035338, 101057658.

Money

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

×

Killam Development Ltd.

$72,700.00

Cash
$10,000.00
Paid by others
$62,700.00
Total
$72,700.00
advertising $33,000.00media $29,700.00

Also funds 3 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Dec 9, 2024 to Sep 28, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

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

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 16, 2025 to Aug 20, 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: 101011018, 101057658.

×

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$60,000.00

Cash
$60,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$60,000.00

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 · Nov 11, 2024 to Aug 31, 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: 100959783, 100987492, 101011018, 101035338, 101057658.

Votes4

House May 28, 2025

Yea
115
Nay
26
Present, not voting
2
Absent
2
Excused
5
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3832

SB 968 (Ashby, Cook, DeAyala, Geren, Hefner, Hickland, Hopper, Hull, Isaac, Landgraf, Leach, Lowe, Luther, McQueeney, Metcalf, Money, Morgan, Olcott, Patterson, Richardson, Schatzline, Schoolcraft, Slawson, Tinderholt, Toth, and Virdell - no) (115 - 26 - 2)

Shared roll motion

The following bills which were considered on second reading on the previous legislative day on the local, consent, and resolutions calendar were laid before the house, read third time, and passed by the following record vote (members registering votes and the results of the vote are shown following the bill number). (Record 3832): 141 Yeas, 0 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 115 (published)
  • Nay: 26 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 2 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 5 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Apr 24, 2025

Final passage

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.

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 968 (Zaffirini) Relating to the licensing and regulation of the practice of podiatry. (viva voce vote) (31-0) (31-0)

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.

Senate Apr 24, 2025

Suspension of the three-day rule

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.

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 968 (Zaffirini) Relating to the licensing and regulation of the practice of podiatry. (viva voce vote) (31-0) (31-0)

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.

Senate Apr 24, 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 968 (Zaffirini) Relating to the licensing and regulation of the practice of podiatry. (viva voce vote) (31-0) (31-0)

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.

Witnesses3
For
2
Against
0
On
1
Names

For

  • Self1 registration
  • Texas podiatric medical association1 registration

On

  • TDLR1 registration
Sources

3 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 significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 21, 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 Jan 29, 2025

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.

Sponsors
Charles CunninghamRHouse 127

House committee · Public Health · Committee vote 9 aye, 0 nay, 4 absent · Out of committee

Senate committee · Health & Human Services · Committee vote 9 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Subjects

Occupational Regulation--Health Occupations

PODIATRISTS & PODIATRY

LICENSING & REGULATION, TEXAS COMMISSION OF

Text

The text as introduced · 228 words

89R5474 DNC-F

By: Zaffirini
S.B. No. 968

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the licensing and regulation of the practice of

podiatry.

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

SECTION 1. Section 202.259, Occupations Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 202.259. RESIDENCY [ TEMPORARY ] LICENSE. (a) The

commission by rule may adopt a procedure for the issuance of a

residency [ temporary ] license to an applicant [ other than an

applicant for a provisional license under Section 202.260 ].

(b) Rules adopted under this section must establish:

(1) the criteria for issuance of a residency

[ temporary ] license; and

(2) a maximum period during which a residency

[ temporary ] license is valid.

SECTION 2. The following provisions of the Occupations Code

are repealed:

(1) Section 202.061; and

(2) Section 202.260.

SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act to Section

202.259, Occupations Code, does not affect the validity of a

license issued under that section before the effective date of this

Act. A license issued under that section before the effective date

of this Act that is in effect on that date expires according to the

term provided on the date of issuance, and the former law is

continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.