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

HB 173 — Relating to the use by a school district or a school district employee 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

1 change Share ↗

AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

This bill amends 1 section(s) of the Texas statutes: Section 556.0056, Government Code.

  • Section 556.0056, Government Code

    Sec. 556.0056. RESTRICTION ON USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND SCHOOL DISTRICT EMPLOYEES FOR LOBBYING ACTIVITIES. (a) In this section, "communicates directly with" and "member of the legislative branch" have the meanings assigned by Section 305.002. (b) A school district 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 legislative branch; 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. (c) A school district employee may not use public funds or other district resources to communicate directly with a member of the legislative branch or an employee of a member of the legislative branch to influence legislation. (d) If a school district or a school district employee engages in an activity prohibited by Subsection (b) or (c), a taxpayer or resident of the school district is entitled to appropriate injunctive relief to prevent further activity prohibited by those subsections and further use or expenditure of public funds related to those activities. (e) A taxpayer or resident who prevails in an action under Subsection (d) is entitled to recover from the school district the taxpayer's or resident's reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in bringing the action.

    added

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

public-safety education
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 173?
HB 173 is sponsored by Hillary Hickland.
What is the current status of HB 173?
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 173?
Track HB 173 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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Last checked for changes about 2 months ago · updated continuously

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