Texas House bill by Rep. Barry exempts certain insurance entities from premium and maintenance taxes

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Jeffrey Barry seeks to clarify tax exemptions for various insurance entities, aiming to define which organizations are subject to premium and maintenance taxes under state law, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the House, 54 Democrats and 63 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while one Democrat and 17 Republicans opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 11 Democrats and 18 Republicans voted in favor, while two Republicans voted against it.

Jeffrey Barry introduced the bill in the Texas House on Wednesday, Feb. 5, during the 89th regular legislative session.

Barry graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1996 with a BS.

Barry, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State House in 2025 to represent the state’s 29th House district, replacing previous state representative Ed Thompson.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to the applicability of premium and maintenance taxes to the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and Texas FAIR Plan Association’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, the bill amends sections of the Texas Insurance Code to specify that premium and maintenance taxes do not apply to the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and the Texas FAIR Plan Association. It outlines exceptions for various types of insurance entities, including fraternal benefit societies and cooperative fire insurance companies, from these taxes. Additionally, it clarifies that certain entities, like farm mutual insurance companies, are exempt unless acting as a fronting insurer under specified conditions. The bill maintains that any tax liabilities accrued before the 2023 calendar year remain valid and enforceable under the previous law. This act is set to take effect on Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill was co-authored by Rep. Terri Leo-Wilson (Republican – District 23).

The bill received its final legislative approval on Wednesday, May 28, and was filed without the Governor’s signature on Friday, June 20.

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.