A new bill authored by State Rep. Greg Bonnen in the Texas House seeks to improve transparency in real estate transactions by requiring timely sales price disclosures to local appraisal districts, according to the Texas Legislature website.
The bill on Education category, introduced as HB 291 during the 89(2) legislative session on Friday, Aug. 22, was formally listed with the short title: ’Relating to medical school admissions, coursework, academic standards, and employment decisions in this state’.
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
In essence, this bill mandates that purchasers or grantees of real property provide a sales price disclosure report to the chief appraiser of the local appraisal district within 10 days of recording the deed, effective Jan. 1, 2026. It excludes certain transfers, such as those resulting from court orders, bankruptcy, or between co-owners and family members. The bill specifies the content and format for these reports and details the protection against liability for entities assisting in report preparation. It stipulates that the chief appraiser cannot solely use report information to raise property market value for tax purposes. It empowers the chief appraiser to seek legal enforcement for compliance, amends protest procedures favoring owners with certified appraisals, and establishes the consequences for filing false reports. Implementations begin on Sept. 1, 2025, with full effectivity by Jan. 1, 2026.
Greg Bonnen, the chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, proposed no other bills during the 89(2) legislative session. He is also a member of the House Committee on General Investigating.
Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.
You can read more about the bills and other measures here.
| Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| HB 5487 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the operation and administration of the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium |
| HB 5424 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to volunteer firefighter compensation limits |
| HB 5333 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the establishment of the STEM Excellence Graduate Fellowship program |
| HB 5294 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to medical school admissions, coursework, academic standards, and employment decisions in this state |
| HB 5293 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the establishment of the Texas forensic analyst apprenticeship pilot program |
| HB 5246 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the administration, powers, and duties of the Texas Space Commission and Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium, to other governmental entities regarding aerospace, aviation, and space exploration initiatives and activities, and to the abolishment of the spaceport trust fund |
| HB 5202 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the governance of public institutions of higher education |
| HB 500 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to making supplemental appropriations and reductions in appropriations and giving direction and adjustment authority regarding appropriations |
| HB 104 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the creation of the Texas future fund and the Texas future fund investment review board and to the permissible uses of money in the Texas future fund |
| HB 5102 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to applicability of certain prescription drug insurance laws to health benefit plans and pharmacy benefit managers |
| HB 5099 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to establishment of a shared savings program for certain managed care plans |
| HB 4806 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to recovery of damages in civil actions |
| HB 4743 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the issuance of a single license for a hospital and a mobile stroke unit of the hospital |
| HB 4736 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System |
| HB 4724 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the civil liability of nonprofit entities |
| HB 130 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to genetic information security for residents of this state; providing a civil penalty; providing a private cause of action |
| HB 124 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the school safety allotment under the Foundation School Program |
| HB 4641 | 03/12/2025 | Relating to the resumption of service by certain judicial officers under the Judicial Retirement System of Texas Plan Two |
| HB 4638 | 03/12/2025 | Relating to the Texas Pharmaceutical Initiative |
| HB 4506 | 03/12/2025 | Relating to electronic delivery of notice for certain municipal zoning changes |
| HB 4504 | 03/12/2025 | Relating to restrictions on covenants not to compete for physicians and certain health care practitioners |
| HB 4503 | 03/12/2025 | Relating to electronic health record requirements; authorizing a civil penalty |
| HB 4488 | 03/12/2025 | Relating to the creation and re-creation of funds and accounts, the dedication and rededication of revenue and allocation of accrued interest on dedicated revenue, and the exemption of unappropriated money from use for general governmental purposes |
| HB 4486 | 03/12/2025 | Relating to directing payment, after approval, of certain miscellaneous claims and judgments against the state out of funds designated by this Act; making appropriations |
| HB 4157 | 03/10/2025 | Relating to liability protections for commercial space flight and exploration |
| HB 4088 | 03/07/2025 | Relating to the qualifications for jury service |
| HB 4066 | 03/07/2025 | Relating to the repeal of the Texas Research Incentive Program |
| HB 3877 | 03/05/2025 | Relating to creating the criminal offense of criminal pursuit |
| HB 3812 | 03/05/2025 | Relating to health benefit plan preauthorization requirements for certain health care services and the direction of utilization review by physicians |
| HB 3461 | 02/27/2025 | Relating to certain memorial markers and designations on highways in this state |
| HB 3459 | 02/27/2025 | Relating to distribution of state traffic fine revenue received by the comptroller |
| HB 3453 | 02/27/2025 | Relating to the liability of nonprofit entities contracted with the Department of Family and Protective Services or with a single source continuum contractor to provide community-based care or child welfare services |
| HB 2285 | 01/30/2025 | Relating to political advertising distributed or broadcast as part of a mass text message campaign and civil penalties for required disclosures on certain political advertising |
| HB 2273 | 01/30/2025 | Relating to the delegation of certain authority of a county judge in certain counties |
| HB 1 | 01/22/2025 | General Appropriations Bill |
