Paul Bettencourt, Texas State Senator from 7th District (R) | https://x.com/TeamBettencourt
Paul Bettencourt, Texas State Senator from 7th District (R) | https://x.com/TeamBettencourt
More specifically, the official text was summarized by the state legislature as ’’Relating to municipal and county regulation of platting and subdivisions of land’’.
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
This bill restricts municipalities and counties in Texas from regulating various aspects of land use and construction within their extraterritorial jurisdiction or unincorporated areas. It prohibits the regulation of the use, bulk, height, and number of buildings on a specific tract of land, as well as the size and number of residential units per acre. The bill also limits regulatory authority over water and wastewater facilities, provided they meet state and federal standards, and on road access and plats or subdivisions in adjoining counties. It repeals certain sections of the Local Government Code, and the changes apply to plat applications filed on or after the bill's effective date, which is immediate upon a two-thirds majority vote or otherwise Sept. 1, 2025.
Paul Bettencourt, chair of the Senate Committee on Local Government and member of the Senate Committee on Transportation, proposed another 46 bills during the 89(R) legislative session.
Bettencourt graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS.
Paul Bettencourt is currently serving in the Texas State Senate, representing the state's 7th Senate district. He replaced previous state senator Dan Patrick in 2015.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| SB 986 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to procedures under the public information law, including expedited responses and charges for bad faith requests |
| SB 2680 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to the public information law |
| SB 2679 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to the funding of, contracting with, and employment for law enforcement agencies in certain counties |
| SB 2639 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to the designation of a property as a historic landmark and the inclusion of a property in a historic district or similar preservation district by certain municipalities |
| SB 2539 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to the adoption of an ordinance issuing a tax increment bond by certain municipalities that have designated a tax increment reinvestment zone |
| SB 2537 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to the limitation on the maximum compressed tax rate of a school district |
| SB 2528 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to the calculation of the petition election tax rate for certain taxing units and the ability of the voters to petition for an election to determine whether to reduce the ad valorem tax rate adopted by those taxing units to the petition election tax rate |
| SB 2523 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to the release of an area from the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality by petition |
| SB 2521 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to notification of the chief appraiser of an appraisal district of the death of a resident of the county in which the district is located and the determination by the chief appraiser of the effect of the decedent's death on the continued eligibility of any property in the county previously owned by the decedent for any exemption allowed for the property |
| SB 2519 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to restrictions on the levy and use of certain ad valorem taxes and on the issuance of certain bonds supported by ad valorem taxes |
| SB 2518 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to the authority of certain special districts and corporations created by certain special districts to exercise certain rights and powers outside district boundaries |
| SB 2516 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to the court orders eligible for an interlocutory appeal |
| SB 2493 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to the text of ballot propositions for bond elections |
| SB 2485 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to the entities covered by the open meetings law and the live broadcast and archived recording of an open meeting of a governmental body |
| SB 2478 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to the vote required by the governing body of a political subdivision to adopt an ad valorem tax rate that exceeds the no-new-revenue tax rate or to authorize the issuance of tax bonds |
| SB 2477 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to certain municipal and county regulation of conversion of certain office buildings to mixed-use and multifamily residential occupancy |
| SB 2238 | 03/31/2025 | Relating to the authority of a county or municipality to prohibit or restrict the use of a certain mode of transportation on a roadway |
| SB 2236 | 03/25/2025 | Relating to prohibiting certain preferences in a political subdivision contractor selection process |
| SB 2235 | 03/25/2025 | Relating to the authority of a political subdivision to impose a fee to fund a climate or environmental project |
| SB 2153 | 03/24/2025 | Relating to the membership of and qualifications for the Texas Lottery Commission |
| SB 2152 | 03/24/2025 | Relating to third-party software providers' ability to manage certain users' social media accounts |
| SB 2151 | 03/24/2025 | Relating to countywide polling places |
| SB 2150 | 03/24/2025 | Relating to coordination between teaching hospitals and medical schools regarding student field-based experience placements and to preference in those placements |
| SB 2149 | 03/24/2025 | Relating to the implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives by providers of electric service |
| SB 2110 | 03/24/2025 | Relating to electric grid resiliency measures, including a study by the Public Utility Commission of Texas of the cost of burying overhead power lines |
| SB 2079 | 03/24/2025 | Relating to certain actions for personal injury that arise out of a sexual offense against a child or disabled individual and are brought against a non-perpetrator of the offense |
| SB 2067 | 03/24/2025 | Relating to an exemption from required disclosure of information related to the next of kin of deceased persons |
| SB 1452 | 03/24/2025 | Relating to continuation elections for municipal management districts |
| SB 1489 | 03/20/2025 | Relating to the governance of public institutions of higher education, including the establishment of a faculty council or senate and the decision-making authority of public institutions of higher education |
| SB 2048 | 03/17/2025 | Relating to the assumption of the powers and duties relating to driver's licenses, personal identification certificates, and other related programs, powers, and duties by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles |
| SB 2047 | 03/17/2025 | Relating to liability of judges and magistrates for the improper release on personal bond of defendants accused of committing certain felony offenses |
| SB 2045 | 03/17/2025 | Relating to the prohibition of certain actions with respect to campaign contributions and expenditures by foreign persons; creating criminal offenses |
| SB 2044 | 03/17/2025 | Relating to the regulation of certain political communications, a prohibition on electioneering by school district and open-enrollment charter school officials and employees, and actions and other proceedings by a public school challenging the operations of the public school system; authorizing an administrative penalty; creating a criminal offense |
| SB 2029 | 03/17/2025 | Relating to authorizing a statewide referendum allowing voters to indicate a preference for observing year-round standard time or daylight saving time |
| SB 2017 | 03/17/2025 | Relating to the creation of a criminal offense for operating a vehicle under certain circumstances causing a tire of the vehicle to spin, lose traction, or leave the surface of a highway |
| SB 2015 | 03/17/2025 | Relating to the relocation or adjustment of certain facilities for certain municipal projects |
| SB 1542 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to maintaining the accuracy of information contained within the statewide voter registration system; creating a criminal offense |
| SB 1509 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to the authority of a municipality to regulate within its extraterritorial jurisdiction |
| SB 1503 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to the expansion of the territory of an emergency services district into the territory of a municipality |
| SB 1501 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to the allocation of proceeds from the issuance of general obligation bonds by political subdivisions |
| SB 1441 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to state agency employment openings and aptitude assessments |
| SB 1440 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to required reporting of certain discretionary prosecutorial decisions of prosecuting attorneys |
| SB 1439 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to automatic recounts of certain elections |
| SB 1438 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to the procedure for a periodic rate adjustment by an electric utility |
| SB 1435 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to notice provided to certain state and local officials regarding an appeal of a municipal order filed by a transmission and distribution utility in a ratemaking proceeding |
| SB 818 | 02/07/2025 | Relating to the establishment of the Health Impact, Cost, and Coverage Analysis Program; authorizing a fee |
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