Texas 89th Legislature, 2nd Called Session (2025) Status: In Committee

HB 96 — Relating to the use by a political subdivision of public funds for lobbying activities.

Last action — Referred to State Affairs

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced August 15, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Stalled 14% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

2 changes Share ↗

Compared against the Texas statutes as published AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

This bill amends 2 section(s) of the Texas statutes: Section 556.0056, Government Code, Section 89.002, Local Government Code.

  • Section 556.0056, Government Code

    Sec. 556.0056. RESTRICTION ON USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS BY POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS FOR LOBBYING ACTIVITIES. (a) A political subdivision may not spend public funds: (1) to hire an individual required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305 for the purpose of lobbying a member of the legislature; or (2) to pay a nonprofit state association or organization that: (A) primarily represents political subdivisions; and (B) hires or contracts with an individual required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305. (b) Subsection (a) does not prohibit: (1) an officer or employee of a political subdivision from providing information for a member of the legislature or appearing before a legislative committee; (2) an elected officer of a political subdivision from advocating for or against or otherwise influencing or attempting to influence the outcome of legislation pending before the legislature while acting as an officer of the political subdivision; (3) an employee of a political subdivision from advocating for or against or otherwise influencing or attempting to influence the outcome of legislation pending before the legislature if those actions would not require a person to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305; (4) a political subdivision from reimbursing an officer or full-time employee of the political subdivision for direct travel expenses incurred by the officer or employee for engaging in an activity described by Subdivision (1), (2), or (3); or (5) a full-time employee of a nonprofit state association or organization that primarily represents political subdivisions of this state from: (A) providing legislative services related to bill tracking, bill analysis, and legislative alerts; (B) communicating directly with a member of the legislature to provide information if the communication would not require a person to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305; or (C) testifying for or against legislation before the legislature. (c) If a political subdivision engages in an activity prohibited by Subsection (a), a taxpayer or resident of the political subdivision is entitled to appropriate injunctive relief to prevent further activity prohibited by that subsection and further payment of public funds related to that activity. (d) A taxpayer or resident who prevails in an action under Subsection (c) is entitled to recover from the political subdivision the taxpayer's or resident's reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in bringing the action.

    added

  • Section 89.002, Local Government Code

    The → Except as provided by Section 556.0056, Government Code, the and

    amended

Action History

  1. Referred to State Affairs

  2. Read first time

  3. Filed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 183 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (183)

183 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 183 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

finance elections
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 96?
HB 96 is sponsored by Shelby Slawson.
What is the current status of HB 96?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced August 15, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 96?
Track HB 96 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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