Monitoring the Session

SB 996

one extra fireworks day: July 5, 2026

Became law, effective Sep 1, 2025

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 fireworks sales to the public by retail fireworks permit holders on certain dates.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Retail permit holders sell for one more day.

This bill lets retail fireworks permit holders sell fireworks to the public for one extra day, July 5, 2026. It affects licensed retail fireworks sellers and their customers. The one-day permission ends on its own when the subsection expires September 1, 2026.

Labels

Labels: QUICK READ: 107 WORDS. The bill as filed runs 107 words, counting the existing law it amends and the text it strikes. The median 89R bill as filed runs 441 words (derived, 8,702 graded bills, snapshot Oct 19, 2026).

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB996 · 2025-01-29

SOLD BY

Sen. Robert NicholsRSenate 3

ITEM

relating to fireworks sales to the public by retail fireworks permit holders on certain dates.

WHAT IT DOES

Retail permit holders sell for one more day.

This bill lets retail fireworks permit holders sell fireworks to the public for one extra day, July 5, 2026. It affects licensed retail fireworks sellers and their customers. The one-day permission ends on its own when the subsection expires September 1, 2026.

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 23, 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 Local Government
  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 intent calendar
  14. Not again placed on intent calendar
  15. Placed on intent calendar
  16. Placed on local & uncontested calendar
  17. Not again placed on intent calendar
  18. Laid before the Senate
  19. Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
  20. Vote recorded in Journal
  21. Three day rule suspended
  22. Record vote
  23. Read 3rd time
  24. Passed
  25. Record vote
  26. Reported engrossed
  27. Received from the Senate
  28. Read first time
  29. Referred to s/c on County & Regional Government by Speaker
  30. Recalled from subcommittee
  31. Considered in formal meeting
  32. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  33. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  34. Committee report distributed
  35. Committee report sent to Calendars
  36. Laid out in lieu of companion HB 4491
  37. Read 2nd time
  38. Passed to 3rd reading
  39. Record vote RV#2119
  40. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  41. Read 3rd time
  42. Passed
  43. Record vote RV#2155
  44. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  45. House passage reported
  46. Reported enrolled
  47. Signed in the Senate
  48. Signed in the House
  49. Sent to the Governor
  50. Signed by the Governor
  51. Effective on 9/1/25
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 130 yea · 11 nay

Senate · 30 yea · 0 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 12, 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

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 12, 2025

Yea
130
Nay
11
Present, not voting
3
Absent
3
Excused
3
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 2155

SB 996 was passed by (Record 2155): 130 Yeas, 11 Nays, 3 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 130 (published)
  • Nay: 11 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 3 (published)
  • Absent: 3 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 3 (derived from named list)

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

House May 10, 2025

Yea
122
Nay
1
Present, not voting
2
Absent
3
Excused
22
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 2119

SB 996 was passed to third reading by (Record 2119): 122 Yeas, 1 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 122 (published)
  • Nay: 1 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 3 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 22 (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

SB 996 (Nichols) Relating to fireworks sales to the public by retail fireworks permit holders on certain dates. (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

SB 996 (Nichols) Relating to fireworks sales to the public by retail fireworks permit holders on certain dates. (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

SB 996 (Nichols) Relating to fireworks sales to the public by retail fireworks permit holders on certain dates. (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.

Witnesses3
For
1
Against
2
On
0
Names

For

  • Texas Pyrotechnic Association1 registration

Against

  • Conference of Urban Counties1 registration
  • Dallas County1 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 23, 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

05/24/2025 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
Cecil Bell Jr.RHouse 3
Cosponsors
Katrina PiersonRHouse 33

House committee · Intergovernmental Affairs · Committee vote 11 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Senate committee · Local Government · Committee vote 5 aye, 0 nay, 2 absent · Out of committee

Companion

HB 4491 by Bell, Cecil (identical)

Subjects

Business & Commerce--General

Safety--Fireworks

Text

The text as introduced · 107 words

89R9078 PRL-D

By: Nichols
S.B. No. 996

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to fireworks sales to the public by retail fireworks

permit holders on certain dates.

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

SECTION 1. Section 2154.202, Occupations Code, is amended

by adding Subsection (g-1) to read as follows:

(g-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (g), a retail fireworks

permit holder may sell fireworks only to the public during the

period beginning at 12:01 a.m. on July 5, 2026, and ending at 11:59

p.m. on July 5, 2026. This subsection expires September 1, 2026.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.