Monitoring the Session

SB 995

TxDOT takes over oversize vehicle bond approvals

Became law

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Sen. Robert NicholsRSenate 3

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 approval of a surety bond for a contract authorizing an oversize or overweight vehicle to cross a road or highway.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

The comptroller and attorney general are out of it.

The bill moves approval of surety bonds for oversize or overweight vehicle crossing contracts from the comptroller and the attorney general to the Texas Department of Transportation. It touches companies that run heavy or oversize vehicles across roads and highways under these contracts, and the state offices that sign off on their bonds. On the ground, one agency instead of two approves the bond, starting on immediate effect or September 1, 2025.

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-SB995 · 2025-01-29

SOLD BY

Sen. Robert NicholsRSenate 3

+ 1 coauthor

ITEM

relating to the approval of a surety bond for a contract authorizing an oversize or overweight vehicle to cross a road or highway.

WHAT IT DOES

The comptroller and attorney general are out of it.

The bill moves approval of surety bonds for oversize or overweight vehicle crossing contracts from the comptroller and the attorney general to the Texas Department of Transportation. It touches companies that run heavy or oversize vehicles across roads and highways under these contracts, and the state offices that sign off on their bonds. On the ground, one agency instead of two approves the bond, starting on immediate effect or September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · March 11, 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 Transportation
  5. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  6. Considered in public hearing
  7. Vote taken in committee
  8. Reported favorably w/o amendments
  9. Committee report printed and distributed
  10. Co-author authorized
  11. Placed on intent calendar
  12. Not again placed on intent calendar
  13. Placed on intent calendar
  14. Rules suspended-Regular order of business
  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 Transportation
  26. Considered in formal meeting
  27. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  28. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  29. Committee report distributed
  30. Committee report sent to Calendars
  31. Considered in Calendars
  32. Placed on General State Calendar
  33. Read 2nd time
  34. Passed to 3rd reading
  35. Record vote RV#3175
  36. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  37. Read 3rd time
  38. Passed
  39. Record vote RV#3206
  40. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  41. House passage reported
  42. Reported enrolled
  43. Signed in the Senate
  44. Signed in the House
  45. Sent to the Governor
  46. Signed by the Governor
  47. Effective immediately
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 130 yea · 13 nay

Senate · 31 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 · Mar 26, 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

Robert Nichols

Donors

James I Perkins$25,000Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. PAC$10KTexas REALTORS Political Action Committee$10K

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 2, 2024 to Mar 25, 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.

James I Perkins$25,000.00
Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. PAC$10,000.00

Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. PAC

$10,000.00

Cash
$10,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$10,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Dec 5, 2024 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

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

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 5, 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: 100965387.

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee$10,000.00

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

$10,000.00

Cash
$10,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$10,000.00

Also funds 140 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 2, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 5, 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: 100965387.

Money

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

×

Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. PAC

$10,000.00

Cash
$10,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$10,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Dec 5, 2024 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

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

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 5, 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: 100965387.

×

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

$10,000.00

Cash
$10,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$10,000.00

Also funds 140 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 2, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 5, 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: 100965387.

Votes5

House May 22, 2025

Yea
130
Nay
13
Present, not voting
2
Absent
3
Excused
2
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3206

SB 995 was passed by (Record 3206): 130 Yeas, 13 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 130 (published)
  • Nay: 13 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 3 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 2 (derived from named list)

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

House May 21, 2025

Yea
96
Nay
39
Present, not voting
2
Absent
11
Excused
2
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3175

SB 995 was passed to third reading by (Record 3175): 96 Yeas, 39 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 96 (published)
  • Nay: 39 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 11 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 2 (derived from named list)

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

Senate Mar 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 Nichols moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 995 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. The bill was read third time and was passed 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.

Senate Mar 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 Nichols moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 995 be placed on its third reading and final passage. 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.

Senate Mar 26, 2025

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.

Voice vote. No numeric tally or individual yeas are inferred.

Sources

The bill was read second time and was passed to engrossment by a viva voce vote.

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
1
Against
0
On
2
Names

For

  • AGC of Texas1 registration

On

  • Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts1 registration
  • Texas Department Of Transportation (TxDOT)1 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.

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 I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · March 11, 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 immediately

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.

Coauthors
Royce WestDSenate 23
Sponsors
Dennis PaulRHouse 129

House committee · Transportation · Committee vote 12 aye, 1 nay · Out of committee

Senate committee · Transportation · Committee vote 9 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Companion

HB 3389 by Paul (identical)

Subjects

Highways

Vehicles & Traffic--General

Vehicles & Traffic--Rules of Road

BONDS

VEHICLE WEIGHT LIMITS & ENFORCEMENT

TRANSPORTATION, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF

Text

The text as introduced · 331 words

89R5746 GP-F

By: Nichols
S.B. No. 995

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the approval of a surety bond for a contract authorizing

an oversize or overweight vehicle to cross a road or highway.

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

SECTION 1. Section 623.051(d), Transportation Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(d) Before exercising any right under a contract under this

section, a person must execute with a corporate surety authorized

to do business in this state a surety bond in an amount determined

by the commission to compensate for the cost of maintenance and

repairs as provided by this section. The bond must be approved by

the Texas Department of Transportation [ comptroller and the

attorney general ] and must be conditioned on the person fulfilling

the obligations of the contract.

SECTION 2. Section 623.052(b), Transportation Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(b) Before a person may operate a vehicle under this

section, the person must:

(1) contract with the Texas Department of

Transportation to indemnify the Texas Department of Transportation

for the cost of the maintenance and repair for damage caused by a

vehicle crossing that part of the highway; and

(2) execute an adequate surety bond to compensate for

the cost of maintenance and repair, approved by the Texas

Department of Transportation [ comptroller and the attorney

general ], with a corporate surety authorized to do business in this

state, conditioned on the person fulfilling each obligation of the

agreement.

SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to

the approval of a surety bond on or after the effective date of this

Act.

SECTION 4. 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.