Houston Republic

Sen. Paul Bettencourt introduced SB 1452, a bill on Elections, Special Districts & Authorities, and Sunset, to the Texas Senate on Monday, March 24 during the 89(R) legislative session, according to the Texas Legislature website.

More specifically, the official text was summarized by the state legislature as ’’Relating to continuation elections for municipal management districts’’.

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

This bill mandates continuation elections for municipal management districts in Texas every 10 years to determine whether each district should continue to exist. If a majority of voters do not favor continuation, the district board is required to dissolve the district, except as limited by existing bonded indebtedness, and cannot incur new debt. The district must remain in existence solely for the purpose of winding up operations and discharging any outstanding bonded indebtedness. Elections for districts created on or before Nov. 1, 2016, will begin on the uniform election date in Nov. 2026, while those created after this date will hold elections on the 10th anniversary of their creation. This act becomes effective Sept. 1, 2025.

Paul Bettencourt, chair of the Senate Committee on Local Government and member of the Senate Committee on Transportation, proposed another 26 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 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 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