Issue 89.23
Final Bills of interest signed into Texas Law
Director of Regulatory Affairs
For this final report, we have grouped the passed bills that we were tracking into shared subject themes.
This session saw the largest number of HB, HJR, SB, and SJR bills ever filed at 9,014. The final percentage that passed remained consistent with previous sessions at 15%. This rule of thumb held true for our bills of interest as well. We tracked 156 bills of interest to the mortgage industry and financial services and 15% of those passed. As you review the 23 bills detailed below you will see this was a quiet session for our industry with all of the new legislation being peripheral to daily operations.
The Governor only Vetoed 26 bills this session. Nowhere near his count of 76 vetoes last session, which was the second highest number of vetoes ever by a Texas Governor. One of those was a bill we were tracking SB648 which would have required property instruments attempting to be recorded by anyone other than an attorney, title agent, title company, or escrow company to have notarized signatures of the grantor and grantee. Not sure why that is considered a bad idea?
Following Governor Abbott’s veto of SB3 banning the sale of hemp products containing THC, he called for a Special Session to begin on July 21st to address this issue. President Trump has called on the Governor to also hold a special session to redraw Texas Congressional Districts, but nothing has been announced.
Thank you for your interest in these Texas Legislative Update memos.
Final Highlight
To read the full text of any of these bills you can go to Texas Legislature Online. The designations you see for each bill represent HB – House Bill, SB – Senate Bill and HJR or SJR as House or Senate Joint Resolutions which relate to amendments to the Texas Constitution.
Document Integrity
SB 372 Campbell, Donna – (Similar bill passed last session was vetoed by the Governor.)
This new law codifies what is already in practice but only by a Texas Attorney General Opinion (Opinion No. KP-0424). It defines persons authorized to exercise the power of sale under the terms of a contract lien on real property. By amending Property Code Chapter 51 to clarify that: “persons” includes a “corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. Effective September 1st
SB 647 – Authorizes a County Clerk to refuse to file or record a transfer document conveying or purporting to convey an interest in real or personal property. If the district or county attorney determines there is probable cause to believe the document is fraudulent. Effective September 1st
SB 1734 – Creates a form and provides clear and inexpensive route for property owners to challenge fraudulently recorded documents. After filing an affidavit with the district clerk and following any response and review period a motion of judicial review by a district judge to determine validity. Effective September 1st
HB 4063 – Unilateral Memorandums of Contracts are being abused as greenmail to extract a “simply go away” fee from sellers. This new law requires Memorandums of Contracts filers to have the signature of the property owner. If not, the owner can file a contradicting affidavit within 45 days. Effective September 1st
SB 1547 Zaffirini, Judith – Removes county clerks authority to charge $0.10 per page fee for electronic copies of real property records. Effective Immediately June 20th
HB 4350 Capriglione, Giovanni – Requires the county clerk, upon written request of a peace officer, to omit or redact from an instrument available in an online database made public by the county clerk, the social security number, driver’s license number, and residence address of those persons. Effective Immediately June 20th
SB 2221 Parker, Tan – Creates a streamlined administrative mechanism to remove fraudulent or baseless UCC-1 filings through the Office of the Secretary of State (SOS). Effective September 1st
Deed Fraud Penalties
SB 693 – Creates a criminal offense for the use of a notary seal or counterfeit seal on a fraudulent document or instrument. Deed theft typically involves the forged signatures of the true owners to either “sell” the property or borrow against the property. This new law in the Property Code creates a criminal state jail felony for notarizing a real estate document when a person is not personally present before the notary or the use of a notary seal or counterfeit seal on a fraudulent document or instrument. (specific exceptions for online notary) Effective September 1st
SB 1379 – Accomplishes much of the same things as SB693, but through the Penal Code. It increases the penalties for forgery offenses involving a deed, mortgage, or similar document, by elevating the offense to a third-degree felony. The penalties is further increased if the offense was committed against an elderly individual (65 or more years old). Effective September 1st
Property Tax Relief
The Legislature used the same approach as two years ago by applying both a rate compression of 6.8 cents through the budget SB1 and an increase residence homesteads exemption in SB4 and SB23 that will be implemented through SJR2 if the voters approve the constitutional amendment in the November 4, 2025 election.
SB 4 Bettencourt, Paul – increases the amount of the exemption of residence homesteads from ad valorem taxation by a school district from $100,000 to $140,000.
SB 23 Bettencourt, Paul – increases the additional amount of the exemption for the elderly or disabled from ad valorem taxation by a school districts from $10,000 to $60,000.
Foreign Ownership
SB 17 Kolkhorst, Lois – Prohibits the purchase by governmental entities, companies, and individuals that are domiciled in countries named in the last three Annual Threat Assessment reports prepared by the NSA or an entity designated by the Governor. These prohibitions exclude United States citizens and lawful permanent residents, including dual citizens. It also excludes homestead residential property. Clarifies the enforcement mechanism is a divestment procedure initiated by the attorney general. Ensures lienholders are satisfied through the receivership. Effective September 1st
Materialmen and Mechanics Liens
SB 929 – Amends Section 53.003(e), Property Code for computing the deadline day in which to provide a notice or to take any action on a Mechanic’s, Contractor’s, and Materialman’s Liens. If the deadline or the last day of the period is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period is extended to include the next business day. Effective Immediately May 21st
Insurance
HB 2067 – Currently homeowners must request an explanation from an insurance companies for why they were declined, cancelled, or nonrenewed. This new law reverses the burden to require insurance companies to proactively provide consumers a written explanations. It further requires insurance companies to submit a Quarterly summary reporting this activity to the Texas Department of Insurance by zip code. Effective January 1, 2026
Financial Literacy
HB 27 King, Ken – Relating to courses in personal financial literacy and economics for high school students in public schools.
Other
SB 2610 Blanco, Cesar – Small and medium-sized businesses lack budgets, staff, and technical expertise to implement sophisticated cybersecurity defenses making them the most vulnerable targets. Establishing a legal “safe harbor” by incentivizing investment in certain recognized cybersecurity frameworks and best practices, to safeguarding sensitive consumer data, including personal and payment information. Effective September 1st
HB 3250 Darby, Drew – Seeks to strengthen the appraisal industry by granting TALCB the authority to administer a stipend program that supports industry growth and sustainability and to collect and display business contact information for license holders on its website.. Effective September 1st, except for Section 1103.164 of the Occupation Code becomes effective June 20th
SB 1333 Hughes, Bryan – Speed up the recovery of homes from squatters through a speedy resolution via law enforcement action, instead of lengthy and costly court proceedings being their only recourse. Clarifies the role of law enforcement intervention. Effective September 1st
SB 38 Bettencourt, Paul – The current eviction process used in Texas can take 30 days to 60 days or more from notice to vacate, to executing a writ for an owner to recover property. Seeks to optimize and improve the eviction process for cases where there are no genuinely disputed facts, ensuring that rental property owners are able to regain possession of their property. Effective September 1st for G Section 16 and the remainder of the bill effective January 1, 2026
HB 21 Gates, Gary – A housing finance corporation may own real property for
residential development or engage in residential development only within the jurisdictional boundaries of it sponsoring governmental entity. In activity outside those boundaries must be approved by impacted jurisdictions. Effective Immediately May 28th
HB 2468 Harris, Cody – Establishes an enforcement mechanism to ensure that the public improvement district service plan information is filed with the proper county clerk as required by law created two sessions earlier. Provides the right of a purchaser to terminate a contract of purchase and sale of real property for failure to provide notice that the property is located in a public improvement district. Effective Immediately June 20th
HB 851 Schofield, Mike – The state currently lacks comprehensive data on how many qualifying homestead owners are eligible for these limitations. This bill requires the Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of Texas to annually report the number of residence homesteads of certain property owners for which the owners are receiving certain property tax benefits.
Effective January 1, 2026
If you have questions about these specific bills or the Texas legislative process in general, please reach out to Doug Foster or one of our firm’s attorneys or representatives at: https://www.mortgagelaw.com/our-team/